Outworld: Awakening

[Establishing Connection to The Omen...]

[Connection Successfully Established.]

[Title: Manipulator Activated!]

Awakened from their religious stupor, the surviving priests scrambled in all directions. Some ran towards the dais, prostrating themselves while fervently praying, hoping for Mikan to save them.

However, Mikan only watched as the beasts tore then to shreds. Meanwhile, a select few greeted the beasts in combat despite not possessing the powers of an Awakened. Their actions only delayed the inevitable. They too met a similar fate like their counterparts.

'Most of them are rubbish… it's not like we weren't expecting that. Only those Awakened shall see the light.'

Unfazed by the massacre happening before his eyes, Mikan gently fiddled with creature crawling over his cheeks. His lips curved into a slight smile, while his eyes shifted between ten battle spots. From over a hundred priests, only ten remained, and they engaged the beasts in combat.

With manipulator activated, Adam glided through the grotesque scene like a Grim Reaper. Anywhere he passed, the cries and screams of beast followed. None of the beasts could follow his movements and neither could Mikan who watched from the dais. Instead of ten survivors, eleven remained. And, a larger majority of the beasts had met their ends at Adam's hands.

Blood, thicker than tar, covered the floors of room. Corpses mangled and whole alike littered the grounds. The smell of blood and a myriad of body fluids pervaded the air, while the uplifting symphony of the hidden choir muffled the screams of beasts.

Five minutes later, the corpse of the last beast dropped to the floor. Surrounded by mountains of corpses, only four priests remained.

"I congratulate you! The four of…"

As Mikan's words trailed off, his scanty brows creased as he noticed a figure emerging from one corpse pile.

'Another one survived? How?'

Just like Mikan, the priests couldn't mask their surprise.

Within seconds, a young man with bloody robes emerge from underneath corpses. The deluge of blood and other unidentifiable fluids had distorted his features.

'Hahaha… this is good news for us. We weren't expecting anything, but to have five of them… hahaha… this is great.'

Recovering from his earlier surprise, Mikan suddenly raised his hands above his head while falling on his knees.

"The chosen ones are born! The chosen ones are born! The chosen ones are born! Let us feast at the birth of the Awakened before us!" Mikan screamed.

At that same moment, the chorus suddenly stopped, and a yellow portal opened behind Mikan.

'What now? Is this another test? Huh? What's she doing here?'

Covered in filth, Adam watched as five individuals stepped out from the portal. Of the five, he could only recognize one. His handler, X.

Saying nothing, the five figures stood silently behind Mikan who continued to scream in adoration and high praises.

"Brothers. Sisters. Prepare them for the journey ahead. The chosen ones are born. A new age is upon us!"

With great difficulty, Mikan rose to his feet with the aid of his cane. With an eerie smile on his face, he pointed towards Adam and the others.

"Stay faithful to your calling. If you work hard enough, maybe one day you'll be able to fellowship in Lord Jolran's temple. Goodbye for now. Your handlers will instruct you on what to do."

Mikan said nothing further. Taking one last glance at the five priests, he made his way into the portal. At that same moment, five colorless portals appeared behind Adam and the other priests.

"Cleanse yourselves. We'll visit you at the appointed hour."

None of the priest knew who had whispered, however, they didn't linger as they walked towards the portals.

As Adam approached his portal, his eyes lingered on X. She donned a mesmerizing smile while subtly mouthing of the words, "Eat nothing."

With no form of reaction, Adam disappeared into the portal.

A split second later, he found himself in a small room with only a pair of table and chair, and a small bed. To his right, he could see a door leading to smaller bathroom which had a tub filled with water. From where he stood, Adam could see green petals floating on the bubbling water's surface.

Just then, a miniature colorless portal opened on the table's surface. Within seconds, a garnished, roasted whole chicken and a jug of wine appeared on the table.

'Even if she had said nothing, I would be insane if I ate anything these freaks made…'

Slowly Adam removed his filthy clothes as he made his way to the bathroom. With no alert from the system, Adam submerged himself in the bathtub.

'Hmmm… this is surprisingly relaxing… it's been a while I had one of this. Even with this much filth, there's no change to the water.'

Adam felt as if every pore in his body had opened, with all his acc.u.mulated dirt washing away. Despite the filth on his body, the crystal clear water didn't change. Naturally, it piqued Adam's curiosity.

'I wonder if the flowers are responsible for this?'

Adam stared at the floating petals with a mysterious gleam in his eyes. Without saying a word, five petals disappeared into his inventory. At that same moment, the water clarity changed.

'Hmmm... I thought as much…'

With his curiosity satisfied, Adam returned the flowers back to the tub. With various thoughts flashing through his mind, he slowly immersed himself into the water.

At that same moment, however, a portal opened in Adam's room. Within seconds, X emerged. She held a set of fresh robes with a small black box.

'Good. He got my message. He should be in the bathroom right now. Then—'

Mid-thought, a chill suddenly went down her spine. Before she could react, she felt a cold metal on the sides of her neck.

"If you move, I can't guarantee your life," Adam whispered.

'How? If he's here, then who is in there?'

X's body trembled as she held Adam's voice. She could still see someone bathing the bathtub. While different thoughts filled her mind, the air within the room distorted.

'Illusion? He's an Illusionist?' X thought.

Fear gripped her heart as she struggled to maintain a steady breathing pattern.

"Please… don't kill me… it will cause a lot of trouble for you. Please… I'm not the enemy," X pleaded, unable to stop herself from stuttering.

However, silence greeted her words. Further increasing her anxiety.

"Hand over the clothes," Adam said.

With no hesitation, X passed the clothes over to Adam.

"You can stop pretending now. You can't fool me," Adam said.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I'm not—" before X could finish her statement, cataclysm decapitated her head.

Instead of staring at her corpse, Adam's gaze lingered on the bed. Within seconds, he could hear a cheerful laughter followed by intermittent claps.

"They told me they would send someone, but I wasn't expect an Illusionist. Is that how you survived the test in the chapel?"

The room distorted for a second time. Revealing X who assumed a seductive pose as she lay on Adam's bed. Despite her cloak covering most of her body, her face alone would stroke the l.u.s.t in the hearts of most men. Meanwhile, the corpse slowly disappeared. Adam's body too, slowly turned illusionary until it disappeared.

Just then, he emerged from the bathtub, before walking towards X.

"Oh? I didn't peg you as a flasher… are you sure you want to be showing me your package? I'm easily tempted you know," X said as her eyes roamed around Adam's body. She donned a seductive smile as she stared at his lean muscles.

Saying nothing, Adam reached for the fresh set of clothes. He didn't pay X any mind. Maybe her flirtatious words and seductive pose would have tempted others, however, he wasn't in the mood to do anything depraved.

"You're no fun. Why did they have to send a prude?" X pouted as she assumed faux anger.

Without bothering to stare at X, Adam dressed up before dragging the chair towards the bed.

"What's the mission?" Adam said, his eyes met X's hazel eyes as he reclined on the wooden chair.

"I need to see the…"

As X's words trailed off, Adam removed the blood red amulet from his pocket, before tossing it to her.

"Confirm if it's the real deal," Adam said.

'Wait… Wasn't the amulet supposed to be in his other pants?'

While different thoughts flashed through X's mind, she keenly inspected the amulet. A minute later, she handed the amulet back to Adam while sighing.

"I was really hoping you were an imposter. I don't know what would make a kid join those lunatics," X said.

'Oh. Does she know the organization Vicar and Adelaide belongs?'

"How can you talk ill of the organization you belong?" Adam asked.

He knew that if he played his cards right, he could find out the mysterious organization behind Vicar.

"What are you talking about? Who told you I am one of you? Do you think I'm doing this willingly? Hmmm… it seems you're still new to all this. Since you gave a nice first impression, I will give you some advice." X suddenly paused as she stared at Adam meaningfully.

"Abandon everything and run. If they're using your family or lover to threaten you, forget about them and save yourself. If you continue on this path, things will only get nastier for you. And, believe me when I say, it's ninety percent likely you wouldn't survive it. Hell. They sent you here of all places, and I'm confident this is just your first mission," X said.

Adam showed no reaction to X's word, however, his mind was in great turmoil. Her warnings were so vague that he didn't understand what she talked about.

"Do you know the name of the organization?" Adam asked.

"Hahaha… of course not. I'm just another lapdog like you. Expendable people like us, won't get to know such information… well, enough of that. I need to brief you on your upcoming mission," X retorted.

'Damn it. She's just like Igor and Bricteva.'

"Judging from how you reacted in the chapel, I'm certain you know nothing about the Scavengers, right?" X asked.

Saying nothing, Adam nodded.

"To be honest, my knowledge on them is pretty shallow too. Only those with ranks of Archbishops or above can know the true history of the Scavengers. However, I'm not totally useless," X said as she made herself more comfortable.

"Members of the Scavengers, or disciples as they would like to be called, operates under five ranks. From top to bottom, we have the Pope, Cardinals, Archbishop, Bishop, Priests and Deacon. Each rank has a varying degree of responsibility attached to it. That's not important now, you will find out about that later," X said as she closed her eyes. "That's if you live long enough…"

Although she only whispered are last statement, Adam heard her words clearly. However, he said nothing and showed no reaction.

"The Scavengers is also one of the biggest dark guilds in Outworld. To be honest, it is only because of the sheer number of followers we have at our disposal. In terms of numbers, we are just behind the Council of Hollows, Mxyrath, The disciples of Eben, and The Eight Gates."

X suddenly paused as she noticed Adam reacted when she mentioned The Eight Gates.

'It seems even a newbie like him as heard about them too… I can't wait to see how he'd react when I tell him the origin of The Scavengers.'

X's lips curved into a sly smile, one that didn't get unnoticed by Adam. However, he didn't read too much meaning into it.

"Do you know the origin of The Scavengers?" X asked.

Naturally, she knew her question was ludicrous, however, she still maintained a straight face.

"No. Who created them?" Adam asked.

"Well, I'm not too certain, but from the rumors I heard. Sir Ethan Quinn created them," X retorted cheerfully.

She donned a sly smile as she stared at Adam, she couldn't wait to see his eyes bulge in surprise. However, contrary to her expectations, Adam stared at her, wondering who the hell Ethan Quinn was.

"You haven't heard about Sir Ethan Quinn?"

Adam nodded. His response caused X to rise from her lying position. She couldn't mask her surprise as she stared at him.

"Are you messing with me? You really haven't heard of Sir Ethan Quinn?"

"Who is he? Why do you look so surprised I haven't heard about him?" Adam asked.

However, silence greeted his words.

'If he doesn't know about Sir Ethan Quinn, does he even know about…'

At that moment, a sudden realization dawned on X.

"How many types of Awakened exists?" X suddenly asked.

'Huh? What the hell is she asking me?'

"Is this really the time for this? Why—?"

"You don't understand. I won't be able to say anything further if you don't answer my question," X interjected.

Unlike before, her demeanor had turned serious.

"Two. Those who are naturally blessed and those who sought their abilities from selling their souls. Now, can you continue?" Adam said.

However, to his surprise, X's eyes bulged as she stared at him in disbelief.

'Why is she looking at me like that? Did I get it wrong?'

Adam could barely hold his curiosity as he stared at X's stupefied expression.

"Whoever assigned you this mission really has it out for you… well, I won't leave you hanging. In most places, your answer would be correct. However, in here, most people would only laugh at you. In reality, three methods exist to gain the status of Awakened. First, those who are naturally blessed. Second, those who seek their powers from the demons. And last, those who harvest the powers of the first two via elixirs," X said.

This time around, Adam's mouth subconsciously opened. He had never heard about anything like that, and he didn't even know how it could be possible.

"That's not all. Sir Ethan Quinn was the first master of the fourth gate of the infamous Eight Gates, and he was responsible for the creation of the first elixirs. Till this day, most of the world still hold a great animosity for the Eight Gates, because Sir Quinn created the elixirs," X explained.

Like she had anticipated earlier, her words shook Adam greatly. His mouth opened several times, however, he said nothing.

"Are you… Are you saying The Eight Gates controls The Scavengers?" Adam asked through bated breaths.

X slowly shook her head as she said, "If The Eight Gates controlled us, it would have been much better. They relinquished control thousands of years ago. The Scavengers now works under the Jolran Temple. The followers of the Èṣù, Jolran."