He had long white hair that fell on his shoulders and a long beard that reached to his chest. His face was gentle, but filled with wrinkles. A pair of black eyes shone brightly with life behind his hair, making him seem really energetic despite his old age. His red clothes were impeccable, with not a single speck of dust to be found on them.

Richard was a respected figure in the sect, and he only ones above him were the Sect Master and the four Protectors. The First to Tenth Elders comprised the Elder Council, so they all held the same authority. Still, it was strange for someone as powerful as Richard to be overseeing the Scavenging.

Truth be told, Richard was bored out of his mind. He might be old, but he still hated deskwork and bureaucracy. He really felt he wasn't fit for such responsibilities as a member of the Elder Council, but he was forced on the job by Sect Master Borgin.

It was already planned for a more powerful Elder to take part in it this year anyway, as the happenings of the last Scavenging were still fresh in the minds of the Elders. They still found no reason for a Silverback Wolf to be so close to h.e.l.l's Keeper Mountain. As such, Richard as the first to offer his services in this year's Scavenging and make use of this chance to take a small break.

He was really enjoying the peace he had found doing this.

As he was thinking of this, a blinding light shone from the trees a few miles away. A terrifying aura rose from the golden light that blazed like the sun.

Richard was incredibly powerful, but he still had to close his eyes and turn his head away from the light. As the light started to subside, a rumbling sound reached him, so loud that he felt as if he had been punched in the chest.

Right after that, a windstorm rose, ripping trees from their roots and throwing them in the air and raising a cloud of dust and splinters.

Richard was surprised. Even he would have been hurt by the phenomenon that happened. When the light disappeared and the wind calmed down, he started to make his way to the origins of the catastrophe.

There was no sound to be heard in the forest except for the sound of the running waters of the Red River. The dust blocked Richard's vision as he tried to see what happened. When the dust finally settled, all he saw was destruction.

A wide trail of splinters and dust that extended for fifty meters was left near the river bank. At the start of the trail was a man lying face down, unconscious. His clothes were in tatters and he lied in a pool of blood. His right arm was a mangled mess of bone and blood. His left hand was tightly holding a broken amulet. At his feet, a thin sword lied in the ground.

Richard was surprised. He was unsure if the man was dead or not, but if he didn't help it would become a certainty soon. While he got closer to the man, he looked at the other side of the destruction.

At the end of the trail, one could see pieces of flesh and bone scattered everywhere near what could be barely recognized as the carca.s.s of three black wolves. Next to them, a large trail of dark blood made its way into the trees, as if something dragged itself away from the remains of the disaster that took place there.

Richard s.h.i.+vered when he saw the size of that blood trail. He crouched and checked the pulse of the man collapsed on the ground. It was incredibly weak, but he had a pulse. Richard took a medicinal pill from a Bottomless Pouch and gently turned the man, preparing to feed it to him. When he saw his face, he went pale.

"Daniel? What the h.e.l.l happened here?" He asked more to himself than to Daniel.

Daniel of course, didn't answer. Richard cursed and started feeding him all the pills he could get from his pouches. If Daniel died in his care, Richard would have trouble, no matter what people said about Daniel's relations.h.i.+p with his father. He retrieved some bandages from his pouch and wrapped Daniel's arm with it.

Being very careful, he slowly made Daniel float in the air using his Qi. A deep frown could be seen in his face. Whatever it was that Daniel faced was somehow still alive, even after that strike he used. Richard had no good feelings when thinking about that blood trail.

Looking closely, what remained of the dead animals could be attributed to Direwolves. If that was the case, then the beast that dragged itself away from the scene had to be a fully mature Direwolf, a dangerous cla.s.s 4 spirit beast.

"This is the second time they leave their territory during a Scavenging. What is going on?" He asked to himself.

Richard shook his head and fished a flat golden disk from his clothes. It flashed with a blue light and started floating above his palm.

"This is the Third Elder. I'll need the personnel in the Medical Pavilion ready, the Second Protector's son is gravely injured and needs urgent care. I'll be returning in a few minutes with him. Prepare to issue a sect mission for a Direwolf hunt, I'll be sending the coordinates soon."

Richard's voice was calm and slow as he spoke to the disk, trying to be as clear as possible, even if the message was brief. The disk flashed again and fell back on his hand. Richard put it away and brought Daniel closer.

Then, he shot up to the sky at an amazing speed, disappearing in the distance as he sped back to the sect.

---

Lya was floating in front of an unconscious and strange boy, still holding Brightmoon tightly in her hand. She looked like a ghost, floating slightly above the ground and glowing with a silver light.

The boy cut out a sorry figure: his clothes were in tatters and bruises could be seen everywhere in his body. His left shoulder was also terribly swollen. He certainly didn't have a good time before he reached this isolated s.p.a.ce.

Strangest of all were his features. He had a common face, but his eyes were of a bright gold and they seemed to glow. His hair was ashen-gray, but faint streaks of black could be seen here and there. His clothes were also stained with black in the shoulders and chest, as well as his neck and some of his face.

"Is this a dye or something?" Lya asked herself. Then, she gently waved her hands and cleaned the boy with a burst of Qi. The black dye dissolved and the dirt was blown away from his clothes and face. Looking at him better, his hair made him seem somewhat exotic, like some kind of beast.

Lya turned her head to the skeleton lying on the gra.s.s. Her heart hurt and sorrow took over her. She took a good while looking at the skeleton before she managed to turn away.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. She lost count of how many times she had said that, but she always felt it wasn't enough.

A few tears stained her face as she waved her hands again. The crystalline ring flew away from the skeleton's finger and fell on her palm. She lightly swiped the ring and looked dazed for a moment, as if daydreaming. When she recovered, the ring flashed with a faint light and a red pill was seen in her pale hands.

"This might be a bit too much, but it is not as I have anything worse than this…" She mumbled as she threw the pill.

The pill flew straight into the boy's mouth and dissolved in his tongue. It turned into a viscous and bright liquid that churned in his mouth, almost as if it was going to explode. She flickered a finger lightly, and a small strand of qi pushed the red liquid in his mouth down his throat.

The boy coughed hard and his body started to heat up. His skin turned red and steam started to rise from his body and clothes. The bruises rapidly faded away and the shoulder swell started diminis.h.i.+ng.

"I'm sorry in advance." Lya said, as she focused and clapped her hands together, making the Qi around the boy's shoulder clamp together.

A loud cracking sound was heard as the boy's shoulder suddenly returned to place before the pill started to mend the collarbone. Still unconscious, a pained expression appeared on the boy's face as he started twitching.

It took some time before he finally stopped twitching and his skin gradually returned to normal. Lya then carefully laid him on the ground as she looked at him with a thoughtful expression.

Earlier when the boy had held Brightmoon, she had felt immense anger as was prepared to kill him in the spot, thinking someone had managed to take down the array that protected the lake and was trying to rob the sword.

To her surprise, not only was the array intact, the boy gave her a familiar feeling.

Lya focused and spread out her divine sense. She was now a lot stronger than she was in the past, so she felt confident she could sense it.

She focused solely on the boy in front of her, trying to scrutinize every single part of him. She then let out a long breath, a complex look in her eyes, a mix of longing and regret.

"It really is you." She said after a long while. It was just a small piece, a fragment that had become a small whole, but that was enough for her.

There was no similarities between them. The boy's face didn't have his handsomeness. His hair was gray instead of golden and his eyes weren't green. His hand were also small and his fingers didn't have any calluses. He probably never even held a sword.

He also didn't have a shred of the proud and cold aura, but felt instead rather pa.s.sive and weak. They were almost opposites.

Lya smiled when she realized this. A sad, tired smile. Maybe it was for the best that things were this way.

Amon slowly opened his eyes. He felt quite comfortable, almost as if he just had a great night of sleep. His body didn't hurt and he felt full of energy. He raised his upper body and sat down. When he saw the beautiful woman in front of him, he almost screamed in terror. Then, he realized she was in a daze.

He slowly started sneaking away. When he thought he managed to get to a safe distance, he decided to sprint. Suddenly, his face hit something solid and he was thrown back. He looked ahead and saw nothing but air in front of him. What happened?

"You know, running away without thanking the person that helped you is quite rude." A melodious voice rang behind him.

Amon felt a chill running through his back and slowly turned, just to see the woman glancing at him from far away. She had a smile on her face that creeped him out. He slowly backed away, facing her and trying to create some distance, like a scared beast.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you." The woman said.

This time, her voice didn't echo inside his head. Amon could properly hear. He was confused when he realized this. He also didn't feel any pain anymore. Even his shoulder looked to be fine. Did this woman really help him?

"Look, before it was my fault, you caught me in a bad mood and I thought you were a robber." She said, with an amiable smile on her face.

"I'm sorry." She added when she saw he didn't lower his guard.

"Who are you? Why did you help me?" He asked, still backing away.

The woman was suspicious and Amon wouldn't trust her so easily even if she healed him for whatever reason. Yet, he couldn't look away from her mesmerizing eyes. He was starting to

"My name is Lya." She said, with a slight, but charming, bow. "I reside in Brightmoon, the sword you touched before." She still wore the same smile as she presented herself.

Amon was in a daze. She resided in the sword?

"Are you… a Sword Spirit?" He asked, full of incredulity, his voice trembling.

Weapon Spirits were things of legends. Only a few cultivators in history ever had a weapon that contained a spirit within. They could be counted on one's hands.

"Oh, please! Do not compare me to those things. I'm me." She said, as she crossed her arms and turned away. Amon found it really cute.

"Again, why did you help me?" He asked.

Lya realized he had stopped moving backwards. A slight smile formed on her face.

"Because we are fated. No one wouldn't be able to get past the barrier without breaking it first if he wasn't fated." She said, her tone serious. "Since you simply walked in, this is fate."

Amon remembered the strange feeling he had when he first stumbled upon this s.p.a.ce. So that was the barrier…

"Thank you for the help." He said after thinking for a while.

"Not a problem." The answer was simple, direct. Lya didn't say a thing after that. She just stood still, gazing at Amon, her blue eyes seemed to s.h.i.+ne as she didn't blink.

Amon understood this. This was a chance.

He thought of how Daniel had thrown him in the raft and blown him away to safety, his fate still unknown. All because he was weak. Weak to refuse his mother. Weak to defend himself.

He thought of when his mother jumped in front of him, facing that horrifying wolf. Now, she lied injured, unable to even walk properly. All because he was stubborn that day and ventured too far into the forest.

He thought of when his father left and the last words he ever said to him before he left. All because he couldn't meet expectations. All because he was a failure.

Amon tightened his fist and gaze seemed to change. He held his head high, an incredibly serious look on his face. He faced Lya, meeting her eyes with his.

Lya lightly trembled. She felt something from that gaze. A strong desire. She was sure it was going to lead far away, maybe far being her reach, maybe far from the light. Still, only looking ahead like that could one chose their path.

She had seen a gaze like that many centuries ago, when a golden haired boy promised her he would climb to the top of the world and change everything wrong in it. A futile dream. A futile path that he still treaded until the very end, only to fail. Still, he went further than anyone else had ever managed to. All because he never lowered his head. All because his gaze never wavered, always focused on his objective.

"You say we are fated…" Amon started, his voice firm. Lya gently nodded at his words.

"If so... please teach me to be strong." He asked her, still unwavering.