They were back on the field where they had begun the exams but now there were much less candidates, out of the near 1200 people that had started the exam there were only about 200 of them now.
Itekan searched through the crowd, looking for the people he'd come with, amongst the hundreds he saw Flocker seated on the ground a few feets away.
'He made it huh' Itekan thought to himself, as he looked around, thats when he noticed Itoyea walking towards him. He had a gaping hole by his side and was covered in cuts.
" Hey, Itoyea !!" Itekan rushed to meet him, swinging his hand around his neck, supporting him and helping him stand.
" There are a lot of seriously strong people here" Itoyea said, coughing up a buck load of blood.
" Yeah, have you seen Kutote?" Itekan asked, still looking around.
" Not, yet, but he's probably somewhere in the crowd" Itoyea said.
Just then a spark of lightning flashed and a couple of people appeared from thin air, there were two rows of them, and they stood opposite one another, facing the candidates.
Then in their middle, the last one appeared, his entrance was different from the others, before he appeared the space where he was to appear, looked hazy, it was distorted and looked uneven, then from the center, it spun like a vortex, literally bending reality, and from the vortex, came the headmaster of the Four Stars Academy.
He appeared, bending reality, a skill that left most candidates awestruck, some felt it was an unnecessary show of abilities and it made some excited in anticipation, nevertheless one thing was certain from even the atmosphere around him, which seemed to radiate and glow in a soft green halo, that this man was power personified.
One of the five known legends, Kime.
His hair was a soft shade of green like a warm pasture, his eyes were a deep shade of green that seemed to hold a great wealth of wisdom, his faace was decorated with little wrinkle lines that added to his unique nature, his very presence seemed to draw the breaths of everyone who stood before him.
Then he spoke.
" Congratulations, to all of you that have made it this far" he said with a voice so tender, Itekan felt his knees go weak, he could not bare to look away.
" The last phase of your physical exams was originally intended to take place tomorrow, after what must have been a stressful day-" he paused, gazing into their eyes, "- however, we decided to scrap that, and changed the exams, the last exam was intended to properly test your limits as individuals, but I feel that has been most adequately represented.
" The final exam thus, is an interview that would tell us why you as an individual should be admitted into the prestigious Four Stars Academy" Kime said his words hanging on their ears like a thread that guided their very souls.
" We would begin in thirty minutes, Instructor Keel Kun, here-" Kime pointed to a young man who stepped forward slightly, "- will announce when the exam begins, and he would direct you on the order of which you will be interviewed" Kime said, his eyes scanning through the crowd. Itekan and Kime locked gazes for a what seems like eternity, it in actuality was less than a second or two, but Itekan felt his spiritual sea had increased. The encounter had been so profound that he had broken through to the 3rd ring.
Itekan wasn't sure but he saw something of a faint smile on his lips, he didn't realize he was smiling too until Itoyea shook him from his trance
" Hey, hey what are you doing?"
" Nothing!" Itekan said quickly, he realized that the rest of the instructors had either vanished or were conversing with one another at the stage where they had stood initially, however no matter how much he searched he could not find Kime.
" When did the Head Master leave?" Itekan asked Itoyea who was still looking at him weirdly.
" A few minutes ago, whilst you were daydreaming " Itoyea said, Itekan suddenly started moving.
" Wait!!, where are you going!?" He asked as he rushed after Itekan.
***
Kutote was huddled together at a corner, his breathing was weak, and he could barely feel his hands, his internal wounds had reopened.
This was bad!!
Kutote in the few months since he escaped, had been subject to every form of pain, since his pursuit started, he only survived as a result of his unbending will, and the ability that he'd from the moment he became sentient.
He could read the flow of spiritual energy on a different level, it was almost as clear as day to him, and because he could see the patterns of most attack, he was able to evade them, and sometimes even neutralize them, but that was not even the best part yet, because he could see the flow of spiritual energy better than others, he was able to copy most low level attacks, as long as he had seen it being casted. This ability however was not able to copy attacks that relied on some other inate abilities or experiences, for example he could not copy that shadow boy's abilities, he guessed it was because, it was a technique that relied on an inate ability, the same went for that blond kids sword techniques, though he could see the flow of spiritual energy very well, his body just wasn't trained that way, he didn't have the necessary muscle build to proper handle them well, he had tried once, when he and Blondie were being hounded by the messenaries, it had left his entire body sore beyond repair. The same went for other high level abilities he had tried to copy like the head master's reality warping just now.
But at the moment he wondered what he would tell the council who would interview him, he didn't have any aspirations to become a hero, or any thing grand like that, he was here because this was said to be the safest place in the continent.
Kutote mulled over these thought not noticing the time run past.
***
Somewhere else, Aitken recalled the real reason he was here, his elders had sent him because he was the weakest and lowest in cultivation, thus making him the prime candidate for their Lords plans.
Aitken looked at the ring on his left index finger, it had a symbol synonymous to one group, a band of heros that are blessed by the god of Death.
Their name is Azkabeth. A cult of heros who devoted their lives and souls to the god of Death, Noir. The ring was being used to suppress his spiritual sea level, so he would not stand out much.
All for the glory of the Lord, Noir.
Aitken smiled sadonically as the chant repeated in his head.
' all for the glory of the Lord Noir, I will end you seed of the fallen' he thought to himself.