A Door

When Thirteen found his way back to the manor and to his dorm room, he felt so exhausted he was sure he'd fall unconscious before even hitting the bed that awaited him. Yet, when he finally did lay down and physical comfort washed over him, his mind still felt ill at ease.

He thought about Ron and what kind of end the man would meet. He knew Ron had done something to end up here, he could tell by the man's reaction both physically and emotionally when questioned about it; but although Thirteen considered him a failure of a man, lacking any will to fight beyond rebellious remarks, he did not wish ill of Ron.

'He's supposed to be the adult, so why does he feel like a rebellious brat that needs a slap upside the head?' Thirteen grew frustrated again at the thought of dealing with the man. He was the child technically, so why does he have to be the one to worry.

Thirteen stilled for a moment, watching the roof above.

'He's going to die. That's just how it is.'

Thirteen closed his eyes and with a long, smooth exhalation of breath, he let his feeling of guilt and sorrow for the man fade, one final thought rising as he descended to the dream world.

'The weak die everyday, I can't let it bog me down.'

**

Thirteen did not dream that night, not to his knowledge. But when he awoke, he felt as if he'd slept for an eon. His whole body was uncomfortable from the lack of movement, but filled with energy.

When he glanced around the room, he found it was as empty as it had been when he originally returned.

By the sunlight he felt outside, Thirteen could guess it was early in the afternoon, and so he rose swiftly from the bed beneath him.

'I've missed noon. I should hurry up.'

Making his way outside the manor, he passed a few helpers in the halls and even one of the students, likely moving between classes.

Thirteen assumed he would resume classes tomorrow, as was usual protocol whenever one was injured or unconscious for a day, which was surprisingly often.

When he found his way outside and felt the direct sunlight embracing him from every direction he smiled in satisfaction. Ever since he entered the Lifeblood realm he had grown to love the sun on his skin.

He let himself up onto the roof of the manor and found its highest peak before sitting down.

The core of his life no longer resembled anything that occurs in nature, lacking the ordinary lifeforce or any baseline. Instead, his life was now supported by four drops of golden blood within his heart that produced power whenever he needed it.

Thirteen drew his bloodbond, the sword at his waist, and after ensuring it was hardened and would stay that way, he extracted the drop of lifeblood that acted as it's core, allowing Thirteen to control it.

Without that core, even if it remained in the form of a hardened sword, the weapon still consisted of foreign blood, and so Thirteen was unable to morph it or change its properties.

Opening his mouth, that golden drop of blood, reflecting the sun's rays brilliantly, flew within and he swallowed it into himself.

Now all five drops of lifeblood were back within himself and Thirteen immediately felt the life giving properties of the sun more strongly. Every drop of lifeblood increased his connection to life and allowed him better control over its many facets.

Breathing in deeply, Thirteen willed his body, through the power of his lifeblood, to greedily absorb the life held within those rays of sunlight. The sun projected so much energy that Thirteen could never absorb everything in his surroundings, his body was bottlenecked by how much he could absorb at once, an amount that increased with more drops of lifeblood.

As the light around him warped and shone brighter, Thirteen appeared surrounded in a bright aura as the sun's life entered his body and refined it before being condensed into a point. That point was a single drop of highly condensed blood, flickering with a faintly golden hue.

When Thirteen condensed blood, he concentrated its properties and expanded its capacity as a vessel. When this drop of hyper condensed blood becomes completely golden from the amount of life within, that would signify Thirteen's 6th drop of lifeblood, and he could begin a seventh. Until that point, it was referred to as a drop of pseudo-lifeblood.

As Thirteen absorbed the vast life giving energies of the sun, he considered the future of his cultivation as well as the many potential applications for his powers. After he had condensed as many drops of lifeblood as he could, his body feeling full whenever he tried to create another, that would signify his personal limit in the realm, a limit which differed per person.

After that, he could begin the fourth and final stage of his Grand Life Tome, the Soulbody stage. There were no more instructions after that fourth stage, but the Tome did not end naturally. Thirteen was sure the rest had been removed, or that this was only the first volume in the art. He wondered if the King would bestow him the next section when he graduated, or if he needed to perform meritorious deeds, or anything of that nature.

When Thirteen felt his body growing tired of channeling the sun's energy, he ceased cultivating and opened his eyes to face the sun above. He felt the power of its rays. The sun in his eyes was a domineering overlord, capable of giving and taking the lives of all things at a distance that surpassed true comprehension. He felt the lingering energy within his body, the excessive life of the sun, and in that moment he yearned deeply for more.

He wanted to hold that sun in his hand, to be that all mighty existence, higher than any others. He could absorb the power of the sun, even if only the tiniest amounts. That proved it was possible.

'One day' he thought to himself. 'One day, I'll take everything that ball of fire has to offer.'

"Good afternoon, Thirteen. I trust you had a satisfying rest?"

Thirteen's eyes shot wide as he spun his head to see a man standing beside him.

He hadn't stopped observing the surroundings while he cultivated, he always monitored his surroundings as per his training for the Unhindered Motion technique. Then how was there someone beside him? On the roof no less!

Eudes Clarke, a man Thirteen had seen only thrice in his life, and heard speak only once, was standing straight as he watched the sun, cloaked in the same strange robes as the last time.

Almost instinctively, Thirteen focused his lifesense on the vicinity the man inhabited, his subconscious mind desperate for a reason the man had eluded his detection.

This was a mistake.

Immediately, Thirteen felt his hairs stand on end as his blood ran cold. The man, to his senses, did not seem a 'man' at all, but rather, something else. Something Thirteen had a hard time describing.

It was like a vessel too small for it's contents, or like… a door.

A door past which something else was watching him.

"Something interesting, Thirteen?"

His thoughts returned to reality in a flash, and Thirteen found himself staring at the man wide-eyed, still seated despite being addressed directly by what he assumed to be the owner of the estate.

Shooting up to stand straight, Thirteen schooled his expression and replied as normally as he could, preventing his voice from sounding rushed.

"No sir, apologies."

"No? I am not interesting?" Eudes asked as a smile tugged at his lips.

Before Thirteen could correct himself, Eudes had already begun to speak again.

"It seems you are quite perceptive. Beyond what you should be, but fret not, you are not the first to see me, nor will you be the last."

Thirteen was at a loss of words, lacking any normal response to the statement that calmed none of his concerns. Instead his mind ran at high speeds taking in everything about the man's physical appearance, including a series of three dot's on his forehead, only a few shades darker than his skin tone.

"Please, sit. I did not mean to interrupt your cultivation, it was merely a good opportunity to speak with you in private."

Thirteen sat back down as he saw Eudes doing the same.

"How can I help you sir?"

"I think you know already what I'm here to talk about. In fact I'd wager you already know some of what I will say, being a friend of Four's."

'So that's what it was.' He thought.

Thirteen had his suspicions about what happened in the woods. And then Mentor Fane had said someone would want to speak with him. He'd be lying if he said he didn't hope this was the case, after all, it was something he'd been waiting and hoping for ever since he learned of it.

"Precursor to ascension." He stated, rather than asking.

Eudes smiled, staring intently at Thirteen's eyes, as if trying to look beyond.

"Exactly.

"Your mentor, Fane. He reported what happened to you within the woods. Your inexplicable movement in the midst of battle. I want you to think back to that battle, from the moment you clashed with cultivators of equal rank to yourself, and explain everything from there. Tell me how it felt and what you thought at the time."

Thirteen did as he said, starting from the moment he clashed with the armored man, to the spike user attacking Ron, and finally the hasty defense that left him unable to react in time to the daoist wreathed in flames. He explained that time seemed to slow to a crawl, and described the feeling of something shifting within him in response to his desperate will.

When he was done, Eudes Clarke still sat across from him, smiling. His smile had been present throughout the entire retelling, but it grew wider as he went, and the man's eyes had opened wider as well.

Thirteen was not used to any of the instructor level figures expressing themselves so openly, not with any positive expressions. And yet, when Eudes Clarke did it now, Thirteen felt nothing but concern.

The man's gaze was strange. He knew he was excited and could not feel any ill will from him, but something about that gaze gave Thirteen the feeling of implications grander than himself. It was this unknown factor that worried him, and Thirteen knew too little to come to anything approximating a theory on what those implications could be.

"Very interesting." He said slowly.

"You say you felt something shifting in response to your will. Something familiar, yet unknown? That's very good Thirteen, thank you.

"I tend to avoid giving false hope to any lesser, but I must say Thirteen, I have high hopes of you. Seeing you cultivate today has only reinforced those hopes, you truly shine brightly beneath the sun."

Thirteen felt odd hearing the exaggerated praise. The most praise he'd received in his life were mild congratulations or smiling nods from the instructors he looked up to. He liked those praises, they were proof of his efforts and proof that he was living up to the expectations placed on him. But this man's exaggerated words were different. It was too much, instead sounding off-putting to him.

"Tell me Thirteen, what do you know of my conversation with Four?"

"I know about the precursor to ascension, but it was meant to be a spike in power. What I did, it was different. Like I had repositioned somehow."

"Yes, well, Four was not told things irrelevant to him. You see, one's ascendence is influenced by a great many factors. Being linked to the plain of thought, the opinions of others play a great role, as does your own image of yourself. Additionally, your path of cultivation and the techniques you cultivate each play a role, helping build an 'image' that represents you, one that flux draws from when you undergo ascension.

Four is a simple person and a simpler fighter. It is predictable that for him, any precursor to ascension would involve his physical might. There was no need to speak of strange abilities or achieving the impossible.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Did he mention unique mutations to you?"

Thirteen noticed that when calling Four 'simple', Eudes' tone was slightly derisive, causing him to frown.

"He did." He answered curtly. "A pseudo-ascendance. Evolution unfinished, stopping after the development of a unique ability."

"Good, then that's covered," He said.

"Thirteen, I know the unknown can be intimidating, but you need to understand one thing. This place is a cage. It will keep foreigners out, and maintain the peace of the natives for a short while, but it is ultimately a restriction. There is only so much to be seen and discovered within the bounds of a cage."

Eudes stood as he continued to speak.

"I have very high hopes for you Thirteen, and wish to see your light shine brightly. If one day you find yourself alone among lesser beings, come to me and I will pull you from the cage."

With that, the man turned to walk away, his silhouette vanishing as he did.