The walk was not a long one, but it was eerie. At some point, there was no furniture or decorations, just an empty hallway. It was as if nothing dared get too close.
Eventually, Skymender reached the only door on the top floor.
"Come in." He heard. It was an old voice, one that clearly did not speak much.
Skymender opened the door.
The atmosphere inside was completely different from the hallway. It was dark, and despite it being day outside, the room felt somewhat stormy. Skymender stepped in and closed the door behind him. He stood in the dark room, surrounded by papers.
"You requested my presence." Skymender said.
The figure ahead had his back towards him, looking out the balcony, and endlessly writing.
"You are blind." The figure said.
Skymender was surprised, but showed no such thing.
"You use the lost technique of the monks to see. I believe it is vibrations, right?" He asked.
Skymender nodded once again.
"There are no monks here anymore, which means you must be from another continent, the Wilds."
Skymender nodded. At this point, he was beyond wary.
In just seconds, this man had discerned his greatest secrets.
He did not fear for his safety, however. He had the deprivation poison clutched in his hand.
"The wind tells me that there is a worthy opponent among those who came from your continent." The man said.
"A grandmaster?" Skymender asked.
"No, nothing to do with strength. I mean intelligence."
Skymender spoke. "It could only be the Emperor then."
The figure shook his head. "No, you too are worthy, or at least qualified to be. Perhaps you are not quite there yet."
"You said a figure. That means only one."
"Yes. This Emperor you speak of is not truly qualified." The figure said.
"Why not?" Skymender asked.
"He is a cheater. I can't say how, but he definitely is. Using cheats, he is not considered an opponent."
Skymender did not say anything, but he inwardly agreed. From everything he had learned about the Emperor, he was indeed most likely a cheater.
Skymender changed the conversation. "So what do you plan to do with this information?"
"I'll just prepare for the storm. It is up to the heavens whether or not I'll come out victorious. However, if I am to lose, I hope it is to you, Skymender."
"Likewise." Skymender said. "Is that all you wanted to see me for?"
The figure shook his head. "No. I simply wanted to see my son's teacher. Whether or not it seems like it, I do care about my son. Teach him well. He is the most talented person on this continent."
Skymender nodded and turned to leave. Suddenly, he stopped.
He had a question he had been meaning to ask.
"With the Temple having its mysterious Temple Master, and the other three regions having Grandmasters, how can the Scholar Region stand among them?"
Despite looking in the books, he had only found a simple, non-informational answer. It was more valuable to the other regions as it is. Conquering it would be no good.
This did not seem likely to Skymender. He had seen much of the world, and understood human hearts. If the Scholar Region was truly just a fish on a chopping block, it would have been taken over by one region or split amongst them all long ago.
The figure did not answer his question. "Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Let me tell you a story. In that story is the answer to your question."
Skymender nodded and turned back around, looking at the back of the figure.
"Long ago, the rulers of the various regions of our continent, the Mainland, put plans of conquering another continent into motion. The discovery of this continent was the most exciting thing in countless years, and it started a new age among all the people of the continent. Grandmasters set out, even those from the Temple Region and the Scholar Region embarked on a journey. This journey was known as the voyage, and it marked the start of a new era."
"Although we ran into some trouble in the ocean, we managed to solve them all. Among those taking the voyage were five Grandmasters, more than enough to solve any threat in the world. Before reaching the continent, we found an island. It was the ruler of the Scholar Region at that time who decided to set up a camp on the island, turning it into a command center. After all, it was hard to tell what they would stumble on upon arrival. Perhaps the new continent was as flourishing as our Mainland."
"Expectation soon turned to disappointment, as all we found were some barbaric people, unadvanced, yet showing signs of advancement similar to ours from thousands of years ago. We did not bother interacting with these people much. Instead, we sent various Grandmasters to scour the continent."
"This was where things began to change. The first mythical creature we ran into was later known as the Wolf Emperor. It was as tall as our greatest cities walls, and its speed was unimaginable. When it first appeared, there were only two Grandmasters to fight it, a Sword Grandmaster, and a Spear Grandmaster."
"Despite being besieged by two grandmasters, the Wolf Emperor held its own for more than ten minutes before fleeing. It ran, and there was nothing the two could do to stop it. This is when we first learned about the hidden dangers. Over the next few years, we carefully explored more of the new continent, marking danger areas and scouting out dangerous mythical beasts. We thought we were cautious enough. We thought that even if we were to be attacked by a mythical beast or two, we would be able to hold our own."
"That is when our ancestors first met the god of the new continent. This unholy being was given a name that spread throughout our people like lightning. Just when we thought nothing could go wrong, the Treant arrived."