Divine Animals

The forest Kaltain and company entered was extremely different from the dead forest. Unlike the spooky area with tall snaky trees and sharp ugly green grass, everything here was beautiful. 

From the lavish ground, pink lucent trees, glowing tiny fairies dancing through the expanded landscape like wind to the blinding azure sky with diamond clouds.

At the center is towering water fountains framing dark statues of a magnificent woman riding a dragon, with circular rows of red lilies encasing them.

The air is flesh, embracing the cadets lungs gently. Safe, they all thought. Instead of rotten air, a smell of heavy fruit and flowers drift through, wafting up their nostrils and helping them find comfort. 

Heavenly Realm, a labyrinth harboring beasts that carry divine nature, and is situated underground of Lightless. It’s rumored to have been a portion of heaven that fell due to a conflict between God of Enlightenment and Solar Goddess. A secret passage to heaven is said to exist somewhere within the labyrinth, yet even if someone has found it, they have never returned.

“Wander around. Everything here from the creatures and landscape are of sacred nature and will not harm you unless they sense danger.”

The words of the class mentor echo in Kaltain mind; Iskra Misul.

“You are here to find a beast companion. They will become your eternal partner, being by your side even after death. They will find you and establish a bond,” says Iskra, her voice stern and a force of calm. “Once you’ve gained a beast companion, the class will begin, but not until everyone is bonded with a divine animal. It’s okay if you don’t find one for the first few weeks, but after the first semester, you should be worried.”

She wasn’t very encouraging, but that was fine with Kaltain. She never expected such a thing at Lightless. No one should.

The labyrinth is massive, appearing almost never ending. Kaltain strides down stone slab stairs leading into an oval tree house. Her hands thrust into her pockets.

Whenever her gaze wandered, she saw majestic creatures lingering. Tigers in different shades chasing down silver wolves, luminous unicorns bathing in the red moonlight, mermaids lounging around transparent lakes, glistening snakes ensnaring ancient structures in waves, etc.

For some reason, they would all shrink back from her gaze, as if afraid she would pick them, which was absurd. They were the selectors. Approaching one out of arrogance or pure naivety ends in the same fate. Rejection.

Kaltain convinced herself they were delusional to contain her curiosity.

Don’t ever try to understand divinity. That’s an unspoken rule echoed internally by mankind. Even if these animals weren’t technically gods, they were more godly than humanity, that was for sure.

The Second Epoch became known as the Age of the Fallen because mankind tapped into forbidden knowledge and awakened the insult of blasphemy towards the heavens.

In that era of humanity, instead of worshiping divine beings, they thrived to be one. Those humans craved more than domination for the earth to be their own holy domain.

Kaltain feet lands on the tiled deck and finds a nice swaying chair to settle in after placing her backpack down. The bluish black fluffy cushion allows her body to sag into a relaxed state.

She gingerly removes her red fingerless glove and stares sharply down at the divine marks. Kaltain is supposed to be a wielder of two paths, but with little knowledge she had over the moon mark, she didn’t want to accidentally tap into lunar energy in class, so she pretended to do the meditation earlier.

Now, she can really do it without any concerns.

Kaltain closes her eyes, diving into the spatial memory of Shadeen lesson.

“Divine energies exist everywhere. It has always been there, but we’ve been sheltered from it. However, just because we know of this, doesn’t make the process any less hard. People who forcefully try to use divine energy without the process of mastery of coexisting with it will die. No questions, no cure. Simply death. To avoid this, Lightless exists. Anyone can become powerful so long as they have the will and strength to step into this maddening fate, though if they survive is another matter.” 

She pauses before continuing in a calm, gentle voice, “Because all of you have succeeded in the willpower and determination to achieve a mark, you will be able to sense divine energies and eventually wield it more smoothly than an amateur.”

“Divine marks can be described as gates connecting you to what already exists inside you; the threads linking to a higher dimension. These threads are known as Animation Threads. Think of them as another set of veins in your body.”

“Let’s dive in. Calm your mind and let it descend into silence. Listen to the beats of your heart and flow of breathing.”

Kaltain's pulse was moderately high due to wandering for three hours, added with her earlier classes, which exhausted her mentally more than physically. Beast companion lasts from 6:23 pm to 8:00 pm.

The sound of her soft breathing fills Kaltain senses as she concentrates on it, attempting to blend the sound with her heartbeat. After a good moment, she does just that. Concealed air in the form of human flesh; that’s what it felt like.

“Once you’re successfully merged the sound, I want you to fuse all your senses with that one, both physically and mentally.”

In under ten minutes, Kaltain gets her body thumping with one sensation. Her fingers, nerves and muscles tremor and pulsate, as if every inch of her was a heartbeat gatekeeping pumps of air.

“If you’re still meditating, keep trying, just don’t give up. Now for those who have succeeded the few steps, you must envision the veins in your body and imagine them splitting open, replacing your blood with that of divine energy. You can feel it, can’t you? The indescribable forces around us, existing as if entities themselves. Those energies are like rich blood only gods can afford to flow in their bodies.”

An inexpressible liquidity gas like sensation drowns Kaltain from within as she envisions, feeling the power even in her pores and very flesh. Her head throbs, aching in an unsteady rhythm, while her heart tightens painfully, alongside her organs.

She fears for a moment she might explode like the one cadet from class earlier when waves of tremendous energy rippled within his body like desperate gasps of air, as if twisting a gift for him.

However, her fears morph into wonder, as a third eye seems to open in her perception, allowing her to feel the vitality of those near. Their spiritual presence like flames lit upon thousands of candles.

Kaltain can’t yet discern them from each other, only recognizing that the brilliant presences belong to divine animals. 

All of sudden, the sound of approaching footsteps manifest in her eardrums.

A cool pulsing aura laced the steps, enveloping Kaltain with a refreshing and fluid sensation. In the next second, she gradually feels like she’s sinking in suffocation.

Kaltain's heart swells with panic as her eyes snap open to cheek if she was actually drowning and was unaware. 

To her relief, her concentration collapses, leaving her empty of power, but also unable to feel the strange aura. 

‘What was that? It was almost as if the air came alive.’

Ignoring her confusion for the moment, she lifts her gaze. Surprise fills them. “What are you doing here?” Kaltain asks.

With his eyes hidden behind a gray blindfold, Ishaan stands before her, carrying a lunch box wrapped in a plain blue cloth with one hand. The other had a bottle of sweet raspberry tea. 

His presence is commanding, like might of nature itself in the form of a human, with the same dignified air. Instead of answering, he extends both items to her.

“I hope you like it,” he murmurs. “If not, let me know what you do like.”

Kaltain was profoundly baffled, staring blankly at the handsome fellow, and then, as she remembers their last interaction, the delicious flutters danced once more in her stomach.

“You didn’t have to,” she says quietly.

“I know.”

Ishaan steps slightly closer, gesturing for her to take it. The simple action caused a thick musk cologne with a hint of deep earthy warmth to evade her nostrils.

Kaltain ran her tongue on the roof of her mouth. ‘He smells good. Too damn good.’

Hesitating to take it, Kaltain ponders. Even if he was friends with her brother, she didn’t know him personally.

‘What if it’s poison?’ Similar cases happened in the past at Lightless. Students will poison each other when their own survival is threatened. One less student meant a higher chance of survival to them. Here, the weak knew nothing but side tracks. Tricks as power and deception as strength. ‘Comrade in arms? More like comrade’s of murder.’

Upon noticing her caution, Ishaan offers gently, “I can taste test it. You can pick what I eat and then you’ll know it’s safe.”

Kaltain regards him with a narrowed gaze. He didn’t seem surprised or upset by her cautiousness. In fact, he sounded almost happy… or maybe pleased?

In the beginning, Ishaan made the food with the thought of just helping her—goodwill goes a long way. But now, he realized he wanted something. A reaction. An emotion in her voice. Something that gave him proof of what he was doing brought good. Maybe it’s because he hasn’t been able to help her until now and that made him feel annoyed.

She was independent for a girl. Something he’s only seen in his group, while his sister, Nafre Iniko, was anything but independent.

Emris Iniko, Pillar of Sun Clan, taught him that women were only good for the creation of life, not the domination of it. Ishaan didn’t agree. He believed in power over all else. Gender, race, status. All of it was a cover; the flesh of a body to the real strength that kept all alive—a heart.

If a person is strong enough to stand on the same peak as a Pillar, then they could dominate life.

Anyway, he owed Ziven a large debt, yet he could no longer pay.

The container of food was filled with perfectly soft short-grain rice that held the raw fish and cucumber in its delicious texture.

Upon smelling the sushi, Kaltain's stomach growls aggressively. She was almost thankful Ishaan can’t see her blushing when she recalls he isn’t blind.

In a surprising silence that’s winded with soft tension, Kaltain stands, taking the chopsticks from him and picking up the sushi with some difficulty.

Attempting to hand the chopsticks over to Ishaan when he suddenly steadily lowers himself, mouth parted.

Kaltain jerks in shock. Her heart skips a beat. ‘He wants me to feed him? Why? Should I just shove it into his hand?’ 

After a moment of contemplation, she swiftly and delicately slid the food into his mouth and takes a quick step back to hide her anxiety.

She’s never fed someone and found the action to be rather intimate, especially with someone so attracting and intimidating.

As he swallows, Kaltain blurts out her realization, “You could be poison resistant.”

Ishaan chuckles, a tiny smile curling his lips. “I am not, but I could be lying. If you’re still hesitant, don’t eat and wait until dinner.”

He leaves as quickly as he came, not giving her time to respond.

Kaltain cast her gaze downward, her eyes a complex pool of emotions. Sitting back down, she places the lunchbox gently upon her lap, under it is the cloth.

She’s never had sushi before and starvation weakens her caution. The bottle of tea was nested between her legs. It was clear that it had been purchased, so she didn’t have to be skeptical about the beverage.

After a few minutes, she finally gives in.