Chapter 11 – My Master Knows Everything

The weight of the underworld boy was nothing.

I had slung him over his shoulder, his gangly limbs dangling lifelessly. The broken sword, wrapped carefully in a spare cloth, was secure at my hip. Its faint warmth was a constant, holy reminder of my purpose.

The journey back from the city of Oakhaven was a blur of motion. The corrupt, noisy world below fell away behind me, its stench and filth fading with every powerful step I took.

The air began to change.

It grew cleaner, sharper. It felt alive, humming with an energy that sang in my bones. This was home. This was the air of the Upper World, purified by its proximity to the Master.

The boy on my shoulder let out a faint groan, his breathing growing shallow even here at the very base of the mountain.

I had completed my first mission. I had retrieved the sacred blade and the vessel it had chosen. A strange vessel, to be sure. A weak, scared, and utterly talentless child.

But my faith was absolute. The Master knows everything. There is a reason for this.

The gate came into view. It was not grand or decorated. It was two massive slabs of gray stone, solid and unyielding, just like the principles of the Ashen Guard.

A single figure in our faction’s uniform stepped forward, his hand raised.

“Halt. Identify yourself.”

Even though he knew who I was, protocol was protocol. Duty came first.

“Leo, returning from the underworld.”

The guard, a senior disciple named Cassian, gave me a sharp nod. His eyes then fell on the unconscious boy draped over my shoulder, and his face hardened. His nose wrinkled as if he smelled something rotten.

“What is that?”

“Why is this… being from the lower world with you?”

I straightened my back. My voice had to be clear and firm. This was the most important part of my report.

“The Master’s sacred sword chose him.”

Cassian’s eyes widened slightly, his professional calm cracking for just a second. He looked from the boy to the cloth-wrapped sword at my hip and back again. He was clearly baffled. I couldn’t blame him.

“The Master has a plan for him.”

I added that last part myself. It was an obvious truth, but one that needed to be said. All things served the Master’s grand design.

Cassian’s expression shifted from confusion to grudging acceptance. Doubting the Master was unthinkable.

“I… see. Well. I will have to check with Lady Elizabeth.”

He spoke the name with a mixture of reverence and fear. Elizabeth. The acting head of the Ashen Guard. The one who gave the orders. The one who spoke for our blinded founder, Siegfried. I had been in the faction for years, but I had never once seen her. No one had. It was strange. All of our orders came through intermediaries or mental commands.

But it was not my place to question.

I stood at attention, trying to keep my expression neutral. It wasn’t every day that a novice like me was involved in something that required the direct attention of the faction leader. My heart pounded in my chest. I hoped I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Cassian closed his eyes.

A faint silver light pulsed at his temples. He was using the mental connection, speaking directly to our leader. His lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. The moments stretched into an eternity.

Finally, his eyes snapped open.

“You are cleared to ascend. Master Siegfried is waiting for you in the third cabin.”

A wave of relief washed over me. Siegfried. My own master. I would be reporting to him directly.

“Thank you.”

I took a step toward the gate, but Cassian put a firm hand on my chest, stopping me.

“Wait.”

He pointed a sharp finger at the boy on my shoulder.

“You can go up. You cannot take that thing with you.”

I blinked, my relief evaporating into confusion.

“But the sword chose—”

“He is not ready. He is too weak. His body is still saturated with the filth of the underworld.”

How could I forget?

A hot flush of shame washed over me. I was so focused on the mission’s objective that I had forgotten the most basic laws of our home. The mountain’s air itself was a weapon. The closer you got to the dojo, the closer you got to the Great Master, the denser the ambient mana became.

For us, it was invigorating. For an outsider, it was a crushing poison. It was a weight that would make their lungs burst and their bones crack.

I had almost killed the boy through my own carelessness.

Cassian seemed to read the shame on my face.

“Master Siegfried will come down to the cabin. You are to wait there. Do not try to bring the boy any higher.”

He looked at Reiji with pity and disgust.

“If the mountain doesn’t kill him, the training will. Leave him on the cot inside.”

The guard gave me one last, hard look before turning back to his post. The stone gates remained closed. A smaller path, leading to a series of simple wooden cabins used by disciples, branched off to the side.

My orders were clear. It was time to see my master.