House of Amarin

"You all should be punished." A deep, cold voice echoed out in the head of Che, kneeling before a colossal tree, facing his lord, his teacher, the Sect Master of the Soulbound Sect. His face was shrouded in miasma, sometimes showing through, revealing its grave injuries and dismembered state.

"Should I…" Che asked, his voice trembling, but the Sect Master simply grunted.

"I reviewed everything, and the damage is manageable. Are the names correct?" He continued, interrupting and ignoring Che's words.

"Yes, I checked it myself. In my report, they are the ones who slipped down into the physical Realm as ordered and currently working on establishing sleeper cells."

"Mhm… The fleshbound ones are well prepared, but I expected it after last time. I hoped they may have been slightly more sloppy after giving them so much time to just… relax." He chuckled in a raspy voice, "No matter. We will create the opportunity to escalate things."

"What are your orders, Master?" Che asked, feeling a bit excited but also terrified as their leader was not someone who considered losses as important… not as long as he could grow stronger.

"We will sacrifice half of you."

"Master?" His disciple asked, raising his head but lowering it hurriedly, afraid of meeting his natural, glowing, green eye. "I…"

"You won't be amongst them."

"..." Che couldn't help but breathe out in relief, and suddenly, he no longer cared about the rest and their fate.

"You are loyal and fought by my side constantly in the war. I like your controlled ambition and would have made you my successor if you had the natural eyes. Sadly… you are lacking in that department."

"I still thank you for the praise, Master!"

"On the other hand…" He smirked, reaching out with one hand as multiple souls flew out of the tree, looking like little water droplets. He looked at them briefly before placing them all in his mouth and merely slurped them up like nothing. "I am disappointed with many of the others. I will send you a list of names, and you will dispatch them on a mission."

"As you order!"

"They will go down and coordinate with each other! I want six of them to start a war with the Six Houses. If they die, they die; I no longer care! Those who remain here will continue as is… When the chaos is big enough, we will join the fray. You can leave that bug of an Amarin to me! I will deal with it after returning to a sufficient level of strength."

"Yes, Master!" He cupped his hands happily.

"Now… about your other findings. The one that Loonah mentioned! We have to take it seriously! If someone down there is young enough and managed to achieve what she thinks, then we have a problem. The Sect Master of the Golden Claw was also an… what they called her? An Evolver. That bitch combined six elements into one… She was a pain in the ass, and I bet she is still waiting for a return! She just needs a proper body to reincarnate into."

"Didn't they… combine all of the elements?" Che asked, knowing that back in the golden days of the ancient era, they touted that, and by doing so, they became the strongest of the Realm. In name, at least. The Soulbound Sect found issues with it, of course. They were an entity whose power came from something unrelated to the eight elements, almost like their complete antithesis.

"Hogwash!" The Sect Master laughed, "None of theirs achieved it! Never! They theorized it and liked to repeat it to everyone! I won't say their thoughts were wrong… their method seemed plausible and working. But the more you combined, the more difficult it got to maintain the balance! It's a ridiculous idea from the get-go! Don't believe what they tell you; they like to lie and scheme as much as I do! They did master all the elements but did not combine them all. There is a huge difference there! True… their leader was strong, and we never could get above the other. She was… tricky."

"I heard they had a very special… Beast Guardian. From another Realm…"

"Mhm…" He hummed, thinking before recalling the image of Swimmy, "Ah, yes. They liked to say he achieved what their theories showed to be real. But not really… he has an innate gift of being in tune with the elements, but he is not combining them; he just using them! But enough, we are not the Golden Claw Sect!"

"Sorry, my Master, my curiosity got the better of me!"

"Understandable, but forget it! We focus on the crucial thing: ourselves! Our soul is what needs to be reinforced and cultivated! When it's strong enough, you can shake off the shackles of the elements and the laws of nature! Out in the Cosmos, its infinite energy is what matters! If you can't control it, then no matter what you can do in here… you remain NOTHING!"

"Yes, Master!"

"Now go…" He waved his hand, sending the names of those who would be sent down, directly into his mind. "Do this well, and you will also benefit. You can have some of their souls for yourself if they die!"

"Thank you, Master!" He exclaimed with greed and happiness, "Master… are we sacrificing those two, too?" He asked, surprised to find Yuya's and Killieth's names on the list. "They seemed... promising."

"If they survive, they survive. But they have been scheming since the day they became our disciples. I have been watching you all; my eyes see everything!"

"Of course…"

"The two have more ambition than you! They not just want your place…"

"I know- Wait!" Che flinched, his face darkening. He knew the two wanted to reach the Supreme Elders' top seat. Everyone did. It was natural. But aiming for… higher? To the Sect Master's chair?!

"The brother has the bigger ambition of the two. The girl is playing along… well, I want to see how they play when all their chips are on the table. If they lose, I win. If they win… I still win more."

"They have no chance standing up to you, Master!"

"No. They don't." He chuckled and said no more. After Che left, the Sect Master fell back into his meditation, unable to hold back his smile. "All of you will become me anyway… A total reset is what this world needs…"

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……

"Did you receive your next mission, too?" Yuya asked, approaching her brother, looking troubled and a bit confused.

"Yes." He answered in a severe tone, opening his eyes from his meditation. "Which house is your target?"

"Amarins…" Yuya clicked her tongue, sounding annoyed and somewhat troubled.

"Mine is the one named Ro. We should be close."

"Then we can plan together!"

"That was my idea." Her brother nodded, "But we have to be extremely careful! This is either a punishment or a test, straight from the Sect Master! We must tread lightly and not act without backups and proper plans!"

"I will listen to everything you come up with!"

"I doubt that." Killiath smiled before returning to his serious expression, "You will have to prepare to lose everything except yourself!"

"Whaaaaat? Whyyyy?!" Yuya groaned, pouting, "I worked hard to get so many subordinates and lackeys! I wanted to eat them when the time was right! Some are already so juicy! Uuuu!"

"Our current predicament is more important than your gluttony!" He scolded her, "Prepare to sacrifice everything, or we will fail with this mission, and all our souls will be the main course of those who remain here!"

"What? Are you sure?" She asked, horrified.

"Yes. I checked the names, and I am sure of my conjecture! Now… not everything is bad! Loonah is among those who are being sent down! I just don't know which House is her target.

"Hah! She will have the biggest problem at her hands!"

"True… and this is why it is an opportunity. We could get our hands on her soul and divide it between us! It would offset the losses we ought to suffer!"

"Ooooh! That sounds exciting! Count me in, brother!"

"As I said! Only if you listen to me! Complain once, and you get nothing!"

"No complaints! Pinky promise!"

"Mhm… good. We may just turn misfortune into fortune…"

…
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Inside the hidden sub-realm of the Golden Claw Sect, Lia was introduced to Swimmy by the ethereal wolf.

"Finally, there is something to do!" He laughed, transforming into his human form, shaking Lia's hand with great vigor.

"What a weird fish." She murmured, looking up at him.

"I'm not a fish!" He protested, looking annoyed, "I am the Lord of the Deep, Master of-"

"So, what are we going to do?" Lia cut in before he could go on a rant.

"Well, the fact you have been brought here is about me teaching you a new element, yes?"

"Sounds fine to me!" Lia shrugged, looking around, but the wolf was already gone, leaving him on a platform stretching next to the big river. "Where did she go?"

"Who knows!" Swimmy shrugged, "She does not like to talk a lot! I bet you already annoyed her!"

"Heh… too bad," Lia smirked, turning back towards Swimmy. "So…?"

"Let's practice a little first! Hit me with one of your spells!" He grinned, waiting patiently.

Lia didn't ask questions. Instead, she hurled a fireball at him that exploded into water droplets before it could land, moistening the platform below them. It somewhat surprised Lia to see it in person instead of reliving it via her ancestor's memories.

"Weak!" Swimmy chuckled, making her repeat it, but she used her blue flames next. "Oh?!"

This time, something even weirder happened: Lia's fire separated as orange flames flew to the right and water vapor to the left, almost like they avoided Swimmy's body entirely.

"How are you doing it?" Lia asked, trying to figure it out with little success.

"I am the Lord of-"

"No need to tell if you don't want to!"

"I have command over all of the elements." He replied flatly, annoyed that he was, once again, interrupted.

"And? I knew people who can do that too." She shrugged, not impressed by his answer.

"Hah! I can guess what those people think control is! No… I COMMAND the elements! I think, and they obey!"

"And how does that benefit me?"

"It will improve your control." He smiled provocatively, "If I can't wrestle it away from you, I won't be able to turn your fire into water and vice versa. Before learning a new element, you should empty your head and realize you know nothing about the elements! Come! Try to hit me!"

So far, Lia thought the wolf was the weirdest of the two… but now she wasn't so sure anymore. She gathered her strength and went on the offense, yet no matter what she tried, her spells were turned to their opposite all the time and, making her lose control over them. Her biggest strength, the mixed fire that killed Undead in a snap, turned into nothing, standing in front of Swimmy. She had thought to summon her blades, but then fear overwhelmed her. What if those, too, turn into something else? What if they get destroyed? No… she couldn't risk it!

…
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……

"This sucks…" It was dark, and Lia was lying on the grass on an empty plateau that now served as her 'home.' Swimmy didn't bother bringing her anywhere… when he deemed they were finished for the day, he simply transformed into a giant fish, took her into his mouth, and spit her high up into the air, making her crashland on one of the random, tall pillars. "I will fry that fish and eat him one day!" She groaned, sitting up, feeling moist all over her body. "Brrr.."

"They are a weird duo." A voice echoed inside her mind, scaring her stiff, but then… it was familiar. Something she had heard before. "Don't worry, they don't know I am here, nor they can sense my presence. We made sure of that!"

"Arcus!" Lia almost shouted, holding her thoughts in her head at the last moment by clamping down on her mouth.

"Very good!" The dragon's voice chuckled, "But I am just part of him… of myself. I am more of an agglomeration of my memories and a fragment of my soul."

"What?! How? Why?!" Suddenly, too many questions were swirling in her head to ask them at once.

"Lay down and relax… I will explain everything."