Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Once again, Ruwen sat cross-legged behind Rung Four, Sift beside him and the four buildings of the fortress around them. They all wore their traditional uniform, now with orange belts tied around their waists. Sift must have caught Tarot, or at least made a deal with the golem, as he’d regained his belt.

The Founders and Addas stood at the front of the group and Padda now held thirty-three yellow belts.

The Founders stepped forward and everyone stood and bowed.

The Founders returned the bow, and Mist spoke. “Never has a class shown such cooperation.”

“Or understanding,” Thorn added.

Dusk continued. “Another day, another trial, another Clan first. Congratulations.”

The Adepts bowed again, and the Founders returned it.

Madda turned to Padda, removed a yellow belt, and handed it to Thorn.

As Echo strode toward Thorn, Sift leaned over. “She didn’t deserve to win.”

Ruwen sighed. “This isn’t a competition. I’ve said that like a hundred times. Don’t you listen?”

“Mostly.”

Ruwen frowned at Sift.

“Sometimes,” Sift amended.

Ruwen shook his head.

“I catch the highlights, okay,” Sift said. “You repeat yourself a lot and I zone out.”

“Are you calling me boring?”

Sift winced. “No?”

“You don’t sound very sure.”

“Stop making this about me. You’re the one who gave our victory to the enemy.”

“There are more important things than winning. And why do you care? You won’t take a relic anyway.”

“Well, maybe you get something special for winning all three trials. Like a special meal or something.”

Ruwen looked at the surroundings. “Even the air tastes like dead leaves. The food can’t be much better here.”

“Don’t judge a pastry by its frosting.”

“I really hate that saying.”

“We hate what we don’t understand,” Sift said and faced the front. “Stop distracting me.”

“You started this!” Ruwen hissed.

“Let’s finish this later,” Sift said. “Mom is glaring at us.”

Ruwen refocused on the Founders, and they waited in silence as all the Adepts moved one after the other to the front where either Thorn or Mist gave them their yellow belt. The previous times Sift had distracted Ruwen for most of the ceremony and he hadn’t made the connection between Adept and which Founder presented the belt.

All the Adepts had Master level skills in both the Viper and Bamboo Steps, but each favored a particular style. Sift and Ruwen were the only ones who had no detectable preference. Sift had said his orange belt had different benefits than Ruwen’s, and now that he paid attention, he noticed the Founder for each of the Adepts’ preferred style presented the new belt.

Only Sift and Ruwen remained different. Thorn and Mist presented Sift’s belt together and Dusk gave Ruwen his.

Ruwen sensed a small disturbance from near Sift’s hip and it confirmed a theory he’d held. He remained sitting straight but whispered to Sift. “Shelly’s back.”

“What?”

“Check the ground by your left hip.”

Sift turned quickly and moment later held Shelly in his hands. Sift was still scolding the tiny tortoise for taking off on her own when Ruwen elbowed Sift.

Sift looked up to see an Adept sitting down. He handed Shelly to Ruwen and jumped up. “Thanks. Watch my turtle.”

Ruwen took Shelly and held her carefully in his cupped hands. He grinned and gently rubbed her tiny head. It was hard to fathom this creature could increase her size until she dwarfed this planet, could swim through burning stars, and create tunnels through the Universe.

With a thought, Ruwen opened his Void Band an inch and gently launched a single Blessed Unleavened Bread from his Inventory. Hamma had given him the small cracker when they’d first adventured in the Black Pyramid together and it increased Stamina by two and Strength by one. The small cracker landed on the heel of his palm and Shelly scooted forward and took a small bite. She chewed slowly and looked up at Ruwen briefly before taking another, bigger, bite.

Ruwen’s chest warmed with the thought of Hamma. She was always so generous and willing to help. He missed her positivity and common sense when they were apart. If anything, the time apart from her had highlighted what a great balance she provided to his natural inclinations. She helped keep him present and grounded. He pushed worry for her away, trusting she could handle her problems without needing him.

Leaning down, Ruwen whispered to Shelly. “He doesn’t deserve you.”

“Bite your tongue,” Sift said as he sat, holding out his hand.

Ruwen handed Shelly to Sift and stood.

“Hey what are feeding her?” Sift asked. “Is it safe?”

Ruwen shook his head and ignored the question. He had watched Shelly eat a literal star and didn’t imagine much in the Universe could upset the Elder Star Tortoise’s stomach. Sift’s concern for her made Ruwen smile. Sift had tried his best to remain free from attachments but had utterly failed. He had breezed through the first testing long ago, but Ruwen wondered if Sift’s soul, weighted down with all those he loved, would find it as easy now.

“Hamma made them,” Ruwen said as he strode toward the front.

“She can’t cook!” Sift hissed.

Ruwen approached Dusk who stood holding a yellow belt. He bowed and took the new belt when Dusk held it out. He bowed again but before he turned back Dusk spoke softly.

“You’re missing something.”

Ruwen didn’t need to guess what she meant and took the opportunity to ask a question he’d worried about. “Will this damage me,” and as weird as it sounded, he pushed out the rest, “or my shadow.”

The thought of damaging something like his own shadow still seemed ludicrous, but he honestly had no idea how the Shadow Realm worked, and worried that keeping his shadow locked in his Clan mark might damage it somehow.

“No damage,” Dusk replied. “But without it visible, shadow magic isn’t possible.”

“Thank you,” Ruwen said and bowed.

Ruwen strode toward the back of the group. Since he didn’t have any shadow magic, keeping his shadow locked away didn’t cost him anything while providing him some safety by denying others the opportunity to use it against him.

Ruwen reached Sift and found him trying to pull the cracker from Shelly, but the tortoise had half crawled on top and would nip at Sift’s fingers when he tried to remove the bread.

Dusk spoke to the group. “Replace your orange belt with your new Clan rank of yellow. Store your orange belt with your white, they hold the work and dedication of your continuing steps toward Master.”

Ruwen untied the orange belt and threw it over his shoulder, but after a moment reconsidered, and dropped it into his Void Band to head off any chance of Tarot stealing it. With now practiced ease, he tied the new yellow belt around his waist.

Like before, the Bamboo Viper Clan mark appeared briefly on Ruwen’s right wrist, along with a slight burning sensation. The smoky fog surrounding the viper and bamboo had turned much darker and he wondered if that resulted from his mark holding his shadow.

Ruwen opened the notification.

Tring!

Dusk has gifted you…

Name: Symbol of Lesser Shadow Funnel

Restriction: Bamboo Viper Clan Adept

Restriction: Rank Yellow

Restriction: Shadow required.

Description: Once per day, for seven seconds, reduce all damage taken by 10% and reduce damage done by 10%. Not all shadows fear the light.

Ruwen read the notification twice more before Thorn spoke.

“Our next destination is Savage Island.”

Mist continued. “During your last visit, you likely noticed the mountains and maybe even the Champion’s Castle. Generally, classes take much longer between trials, and powering the portals to Savage Island creates no complications.”

“This class, however,” Dusk said. “Has obliterated the previous records and forced unexpected consequences on all of us.”

Sift leaned toward Ruwen. “They’re powering the portals with soul magic, and we aren’t giving them enough time to recharge.”

“Specifically,” Thorn said. “Instead of five more visits to Savage Island, you will only return twice.”

“They should ask you,” Ruwen whispered to Sift. “You never run out of soul energy.”

Sift shook his head. “I am not hooking my soul to a portal. What if it sucks me in?”

“You have the weirdest fears.”

“Many of the locations on Savage Island we place Adepts are educational,” Mist said and held up two fingers. “Two are necessary. The Pools and the Castle.”

“In fact,” Ruwen whispered to Sift. “It takes your parents and the Founders together, each powering a single gate rune, to open these portals. I bet you could power all five runes yourself.”

“Not going to happen.”

Dusk studied the Adepts for a few seconds before continuing. “Your Masters all used a soul stone to translocate a mirrored form of your body and mind to the first Clan test where you successfully scaled Mount Sorrow. Physically moving you from your home worlds to Mt. Sorrow would be a colossal waste of Clan resources, as so many never complete or survive their training to reach this point.”

Thorn held up a finger-sized black rock. It looked very similar to the one Padda had placed before Ruwen in the Black Pyramid.

Thorn moved the rock back and forth in front of her. “That is why the soul stones are so important. It allows us to send many candidates to the Mt. Sorrow trial and determine if they are worthy to continue training in the Bamboo Viper Steps. Without these stones, our Clan would suffer.”

“And we are dangerously low,” Mist said. “We must collect more if our Clan is to thrive.”

Ruwen kept his heart rate even, but he had wanted to study one of these stones ever since he’d learned his soul had been sealed up tight by Uru during Ascension. Madda had told him the stones used a person’s soul to power the translocation he’d experienced, but he didn’t understand how that could be true for those who had Ascended. He wanted one for himself to study.

And it appeared he’d finally have the chance.