Bk 2: Chapter Five (30)

A thousand swords slammed into the coming pack, piercing through them with ease. Walter looked around at the carnage and then the remaining wolves ran away and turned to Spirit Tharl.

"Is there any better way to clear this level?" he asked before moving around and carving out the monster cores from the wolves' chests.

Spirit Tharl watched him move quietly for a while. One would mistake his gaze on Walter as pondering.

"You wish to learn from them but not be one of them?" Spirit Tharl asked.

"You think too much," Walter answered.

"Those disciples will never like you anyway. But, have you considered what that little master of yours truly wants?" he asked and Walter paused for a second then continued carving out monster cores in silence.

"That little master of yours wishes not for the disciple of the black hand as her own, but for the black hand as her own," Spirit Tharl says.

"You should not worry too much about the Lady's plans," Walter answered offhandedly.

"You must not only win, boy. You must win well. It is not to be a disciple. It is to be one that can command the powers of the Black Hand," Spirit Tharl said and Walter carved the last monster core and got up.

"I thought you do not care for the lady's plans," Walter asked.

"Oh, I do not. But I care for how her plans develop you," Spirit Tharl answered and Walter raised a brow.

"A disciple with the power of the black hand is good for her. You should not be looking into shortcuts," Spirit Tharl said.

"Just because I am your host and you reside in my body does not mean that you know what I am thinking, Tharl," Walter said coldly.

"It was just a suggestion," Spirit Tharl raised his hands in surrender.

"I have a place in the games, but I need to have a place here. Even if they do not like me, they should fear me. Even if they dare not cross my path, they should revere me," Walter said and Spirit Tharl chuckled.

"I like the way you think boy. They will hate you but will be proud to say you are one of them. If so, good. You must not fear their anger then. You must go all the way," Spirit Tharl said.

"You seem to have something in mind," Walter asked curiously.

"Come with me, boy. Let's flatten this mountain," Walter heard him say before space warped and he found himself standing in the dark.

"It's dark, Tharl," he said.

"Look with your third eye," Spirit Tharl's voice came and Walter closed his eyes and concentrated. He drew energy from the shed to the point between his two eyebrows then opened his eyes to see before a large rock in the middle of a cave clear as day.

"You still take so long to switch to your third eye," Spirit Tharl sighed.

"Why are we here?" Walter asked the corporeal form of Spirit Tharl standing beside him.

"We are standing at the base of this mountain. Don't look at one spot boy, look at the entire picture," Spirit Tharl chuckled. At this, Walter looked down at the dirt beneath his feet, then looked up at the dark rock before him.

"What…" he started to ask when he saw it. This was no rock? This was a large sleeping reptile face. A snake? A lizard? Not quite.

"A tortoise. the entire mountain sits on its shell," Spirit Tharl said.

"A Spirit monster,"

"With a heaven-grade monster core. You wanted something to kill, kill it," Spirit Tharl said and Walter frowned. Was he crazy? Even if he had gained some cultivation from the emperor's shed and some from studying under that old man, how could he kill this thing? Walter glanced at the corporeal form in anger.

"You said I don't care for your little master, you are right. I care more about your growth,"

"This is going too far," Walter said through his teeth.

"To hold the emperor's shed is to stand at the edge of death for all eternity," Spirit Tharl said and moved away towards the sleeping tortoise's face, his feet floating just a foot above the ground.

"Tharl…." Walter started.

"This is not a saying to scare people, Boy. It is a fact. The holder of the emperor's shed can only touch to gain the shed's power at the edge of death," Spirit Tharl now stood before the giant tortoise's head.

"So, die boy," he said and touched the leathery face before fading away just in time for large reptile eyes to snap open.