Sovereign of the Primordial Beasts Cultivator

Broken

Adrian’s head throbbed with a violent, rhythmic ache as the morning sunlight pierced through the window. He pushed himself up, grinning as he rubbed his temples.

He remembered the meditation chamber. He remembered the flames, the scythe, the triumph of hitting the seventh level. But after Thomas told him to wash up? After dark?

Nothing. Just a blurred, static haze and the foul taste of blood in his mouth. A Qi deviation. He must have pushed his new core too hard and blacked out, that was the only explanation to this sudden memory loss.

But if it was just exhaustion, why did his stomach twist with a rather suffocating dread?

His vision was blurred for a while as he dodged the blinding light sipping from the window, rolling over to the other side of the bed.

Yuki was by his side, moving around in circles, swaying her tales and whining endlessly.

“What's the matter?” Adrian raised an eyebrow at the white beast, but her response was rather dazzling.

“You can't attend the ceremony!” Yuki stated firmly in his mind, as if trying to plant the idea in his mind but he was stronger.

Adrian's cheeks sagged as he stared at Yuki, trying to make sense of what she had just said. He rolled his eyes at her and scoffed softly, turning over the sheet to the other side and rose up from the bed with a loud crack of his bones and joints.

“You have to listen to me,” Yuki pressed, but Adrian snapped right away, his eyes glowing with a faint flame.

“And why would I do that?”

Adrian turned around, staring at the beautiful robe that was made specially for him and today and smiled warmly then turned to Yuki and chuckled with a smirk by the corner of his lips.

“You of all people know how hard I've worked for this moment, for this day. Why try to ditch me when I want to make my father proud?”

Adrian paced the room, not minding Yuki's frantic cries in his mind, and went on arranging all the adornments he'll be putting on for the event.

“Please, Adrian,” Yuki still begged.

Adrian turned to the weary fox now with a smug grin on his face.

“I'm going to take my bath now, you can either sit there and whine about it or support me today. You know I won't change my mind,” and he grabbed his towel and slammed the door right in Yuki's face.

The hot water from the tub filled his soul with calmness and all he could think about was him being celebrated on the altar, “The Prime Cultivator,” as Thomas had called him.

A few moments later, Adrian stepped out of the bathroom, his body still releasing steam from the hot bath but Yuki on the other hand still remained troubled, chittering and growling.

“You wanted to tell me something last night when you came back from wherever you went, but you just blacked out. Please, you know deep down, you feel this lingering feeling of dread about today. Something's not right,” Yuki explained but Adrian was drowned in the joy of fulfillment.

Today was all he had worked for, and there was no walking away from it. He turned to her with a stern look, and then his expression slowly softened into a soft smile. He dropped to one knee and ran his fingers through Yuki's hair and patted her head softly.

“I know, I know. But it's just the adrenaline about the ceremony, nothing more,” Adrian smiled, but Yuki's face remained unchanged, still weary and heavy. “I assure you,” Adrian added with a smile, shaking Yuki up and forcing a softer expression. Though Yuki still wasn't satisfied.

Thereafter, Adrian turned to the mirror, adorned in the perfection of the radiant blue and silver robes, smiling graciously at his power and beauty.

“It looks good on you,” a groggy voice said from behind.

Adrian turned sharply, and standing by the door was Thomas, smiling warmly at him.

Adrian smiled back at him with pride, waving and flaunting the robes to him, while Yuki stood by the corner, meticulously observing Thomas’ movements.

“It's perfect, my boy.” Thomas patted his shoulder softly and arranged the collar properly for him.

Thomas leaned in, his expression a mix of emotions he couldn't hide so well anymore.

“I've waited for this day my whole life,” he whispered, his breath heavy on Adrian’s skin and patted him softly.

“Come on, let's not keep the others waiting for so long.” Thomas smiled and hung his arms around his shoulder while they both walked away.

Behind them was the skeptical Yuki who somehow heard the sinister undertone in Thomas’ voice and the look in his eyes, the one's happiness had blinded Adrian from.

The walk down the passage was a rather enthusiastic one, for Adrian, but not for Yuki. The fox couldn't help but pick out every odd tiny detail in Thomas' looks, his voice, but she was powerless to do anything about it.

“Alright son, let's go fix everything,” Thomas smiled and patted Adrian’s shoulder once again. He held his hand now and they revealed themselves from the dark passage into the light, filled with crowds from various realms and kingdoms.

Adrian couldn't help but smile as he sighted the various high level cultivators too, the ones he had learned about, the ones he had heard great things about, all here to celebrate him.

They cheered softly as they moved graciously along the aisle, but that was all he saw.

Yuki on the other hand saw the truth behind their faces.

Some of them stared at him with pity, some with greed, while some just stared blankly. The atmosphere was a mix of emotions Yuki didn't seem to understand. The unnerving and doubting feelings never left, “something wasn't right,” she kept muttering to herself and in his mind, but he was too busy with Thomas to listen.

The loud enthusiastic music playing from the harps slowly began to fade as they got nearer to the threshold. And slowly changed into a rather moody melody. Adrian paused for a while, just a step forward from the threshold with the pillars all over it.

“Don't climb that,” Yuki whispered, but her last minute call wasn't enough to break him from Thomas' whims.

“Go on son, it's your moment,” he smiled and helped him up there.

Adrian took his strides slowly, calmly observing the pillars around him, the unnerving feeling he had suppressed started to grow, alongside Yuki's endless pleas. But he took one last glance at Thomas and then at Isabella, his beautiful lover, smiling and cheering him on from the crowds, the music around them growing at a steady pace, the air growing heavier with each passing second. Thomas nodded gently, smiling warmly at him and he turned away from the crowd, away from Yuki and stepped on to it calmly, holding the pillars as he was instructed to.

A smile tugged across the corners of Thomas’ lips and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the music intensified and grew to its peak, the sadness already written all over the face of Yuki who now saw as everything changed and turned around swiftly.

The pillars started to burn with a strange energy and his hands were held firmly by a strange burning force.

“What's happening?” Adrian's frantic cries filled the air. The realization hit him harder than any physical blow he had ever received. He had just walked into a trap, despite Yuki's warnings, he was blinded by love, familial love he had never felt all his life.

“Please, what's happening?!”

Yuki studied the threshold carefully, realizing it was an ancient trap that froze anyone who stepped on it when it was activated. The only way to break through was to fight it with a greater force and that now seemed impossible.

If it could hold Adrian despite the fact he was the prime cultivator, then he was doomed.

Yuki chittered and paced around weary, and ran off to hiding, knowing they'll find her next when they're done with him. She hid by the corners, watching her beloved old friend and partner burn and scream in pain.

The beautiful ceremony turned red and was instantly stripped away of its lies and revealed its true and brutal nature. The elders took off their robes and revealed red robes, masked with runes that glowed with a strange energy.

Marcus on the other hand slowly approached from the crowd as they cheered, the music intensified. His chest was bare and revealed various surgical marks all over his body and when his eyes met with Adrian's, the suppressed memory from the last night came crashing down into his mind at once.

“You think I want to wait, Marcus? If your meridians weren't shattered, I wouldn't have had to feed and house that brat for eighteen years just to fix you!"

Those cruel words filled Adrian's mind and tear drops rolled down his eyes. He stood there in pain, realizing he had walked right into a trap, one he could have avoided, if only he had listened and trusted his guts. But it was too late, now his cultivation energy had stopped working and any effort to force them only worsened the pain.

Only his eyes could still move and Thomas' fake smile disappeared and his expression was brutal and cold. The five sworn elders of each of the realms started making hand signs. Chains made of magical energy wrapped around Adrian and started burning him, this time with a stronger and different flame, one that could dissipate anything into nothingness. But the power in him, it was the only thing keeping him alive.

Adrian's mind finally understood what was happening. They were going to steal his bloodline and give it to Marcus.

Thomas turned around now and faced the crowd, smiling with a nefarious grin, his arms wrapped around Marcus.

His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear while Adrian bled behind them.

“People, today we all are gathered here to do what has to be done. We're here to fix Marcus’ problem and that can only be done by taking,” he paused and turned to Adrian with a smirk. “Adrian's bloodline,” and they all cheered and the drums banged in horror.

“Why are you doing this?” Adrian's frantic cries echoed from behind.

Thomas chuckled and turned around, their eyes met and the energy between them was terrifying.

“Well, I think you need to know now why and how I adopted you. I only brought you into my house because of your bloodline. Your parents would never give you up to me just like that, and I had to kill them, it had to be done,” he sneered with a cruel voice and Adrian's voice broke into heavy sobs.