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Chapter 29 - A Grand Master

Raghav looked at Erich, who remained calm in the face of this unknown person, so he nodded and looked back at the man.

"I am sorry, may I know who you are?"

The man chuckled, nodding with his finger. "Ah, the ever so polite. Yes, you may."

He spread his hands out. "My name is Octiv Krand, the Grand Guild Master. It was I who established the Adventurers Guild."

Raghav tilted his head slightly. "That would make you over a thousand years old, and you are neither an Elf nor a Dwarf."

The man clapped his hands. "Impressive, you could discern that just from a look, you have not met any elf or dwarf yet. How can you explain such longevity of my life then?"

Raghav looked at him for a moment before opening his mouth. "Of course, how would you know? I will tell you myself, I am a…" "Vampire."

His eyes darted towards Raghav as the smile on his face fell off. "You, Mr. Octiv Krand, are a Vampire. My world may not have Vampires, Elves or dwarfs, but we do have tales and stories."

Octiv smacked his lips, letting out a squeak. "I wanted to reveal myself as a vampire, but you took all the fun out of it."

He shifted his gaze towards Erich and Mrs. Yrictor. "How was his performance?"

Mrs. Yrictor was shaking her head as she gestured at Raghav. "In my thirty-eight years as a mage, I have tested thousands of individuals. I have come across beings who use powers from beyond Paneria, yet I have never come across this power or any power of this magnitude. I have never met an individual with this much knowledge, such control over their power."

Octiv laughed lightly, his fangs sticking out of his lips. "Of course, it only makes sense for him to have this much knowledge and power; he has the guidebook of creation at his disposal and the purest form of power in existence."

His head slowly turned back towards Raghav, who was looking dead at him, his face as serious as it could be. Octiv's laughter died down as he finished his sentence.

"The Primordial Force of Origin: Omniurja."

He gestured towards the door with his eyebrows at the elderly couple. "Go ahead and finalise his license, be sure to give him the rank he deserves. I would like to spend some quality time with our Hero. There is so much to talk about."

They nodded, bowing their heads. "Yes, Grand Guild Master."

The elderly couple were heading towards the door as Octiv looked back at them. "Erich?"

They both stopped in their steps, turning around. "Yes?" "You carry on, Mrs. Yrictor."

Mrs. Yrictor nodded and left the room. "Now, Mr. Erich, what are you holding in your hands?" Erich looked down and saw that he was holding Raghav's sword in his hands. "It is not nice to walk off with our guests' belongings." "My apologies, Mr. Raghav."

Raghav turned to the old man with a gentle expression on his face. "It is of no importance, Mr. Erich. We all make mistakes."

He then walked over to the man and took his sword back, tying it around his waist. He turned around, looking at Octiv. "You said you wanted to talk. I am listening."

"Are you going to keep using your powers? The white glow is irritating to the eyes." "Yes, but I can internalise the glow for you."

Just as he said, the glow dimmed out until it was not visible; even then, it was very much active.

With a snap of his fingers, Octiv vanished in thin air before reappearing. He had his left hand on his hip and was tapping his right foot. "There is no need to resist my teleportation. I will not harm you."

"Maybe I did it, because I do not know where we are going and for how long? I have a dinner I need to attend" Raghav held his hands in front of his body as he looked at Octiv.

"I assure you, no harm will befall you. We are going into my pocket dimension, and I also assure you, we will be back in a few moments. Time moves faster in my dimension than it does in this dimension. Now, if I have your permission?" Raghav nodded as Octiv snapped his fingers once more.

They were now present inside a grey void. Raghav looked around, finding nothing but a never-ending expanse of grey. He then looked down and saw zombies and mutilated corpses running around, grabbing things from one window and taking them to another.

"So that is the teleportation system utilised by the Guild to transport black pearls and other items. I knew that it would be too much for Master Rank Mages. I was certain there would be a Grand Master overseeing this organisation."

"I am happy that I was the first Grand Master you have met. Yet you are so calm and collected, unaffected by whatever comes your way; it is no wonder you were chosen by The One. He likes people like you, people who either abandon all else for him or people who realise the truth about who they are."

Octiv conjured two chairs and a table, gesturing for Raghav to take a seat. "You know an awful lot about the primordial forces and the type of people The One prefers. That is to be given that a Grand Master who has lived for over a millennium would know some secrets."

Octiv leaned back his head, hanging off the back. "The people are oblivious to these powers all they are aware of on a mass scale is Mana, some skilled and knowledgeable people know of Chaos Magic and that making sacrifices to the king of hell grants a small amount of it, they think it is his to give, they are yet unaware that he himself is granted a sliver of this power, they do not know of its true nature as The Primordial Force of Chaos."

He chuckled, raising his head as he met Raghav's empty gaze. "But you know all this, after all, you also received a primordial force, and the primordial forces grant their users with some advanced knowledge."

He reached forward as two cups of tea appeared on the table. He picked one up and held it for Raghav, who raised his hand, gently shaking his head. "I must decline, I do not drink tea."

Octiv flashed his eyebrows as his lips frowned. He took the cup for himself and transformed the other cup into a saucer. "I must admit, you are the most perfect candidate for the role of the Hero. There couldn't be a better choice to face a user of Chaos Magic than a user of Omniurja. Omniurja is special, while the other primordial forces are granted by the primordial entities, Omniurja is received only through the connection with The One."

He then frowned. "The Sages and Saints do not involve themselves in the matters of this world; they call it all a dream, and they do not use their power unless they feel The One wish for them to do so. But you are different, you can wield it however you want."

Raghav narrowed his eyes, leaning forward. "Those Sages and Saints are absolutely correct, this existence, that which you call reality, is indeed a dream, an illusion made to make you forget who you truly are, to keep you away from the truth, that you do not recognise."

Octiv placed the cup down, leaning forward, his face a few inches away from Raghav's. He attempted to invade Raghav's mind. 'What truth are you hiding behind those unreadable eyes?' "AGH!"

He reeled back, holding his head. "You must be careful, Grand Guild Master, even though I do not yet possess the abilities that you do. I may be in my early stages of wielding it, but I still possess the Pinnacle of Power."

Raghav looked down, hearing some clattering. He found a zombie who had fallen and dropped some files. Raghav reached out with his hand, helping the zombie up and handing him his files back. The zombie looked up and saw Raghav smiling down at him.

Raghav then shifted his gaze back at Octiv, who was fuming, his eyes widened in anger, and his teeth pressed hard against each other.

The internalised glow emerged outward. "There is no need to fight. You instinctively invaded my mind, as vampires like to do. I protected my mind and privacy as I have the right to. So there is no need to escalate the situation, is there?"

Octiv gulped, licking his fangs with his tongue, and he closed his eyes, exhaling. "There is not."

He then turned towards the zombie that Raghav had helped. "I see. You are one of them."

Raghav blinked blankly. "Tell me, where did you acquire so many zombies and undead?"

Octiv looked back at Raghav before looking down past his feet at the distant creatures. "They are from the time when I was human, during the Great War, millions of people died, what to do with the bodies, burning them was becoming problematic as the war intensified."

He closed his eyes. "I began resurrecting them with necromancy before our enemies did, while these zombies were cursed when they were alive, to rot and decay while they lived. Once their mind were gone, I could not do anything for them, I did not want to slay my own men, and so I brought them here."

Leaning back, Raghav looked at the zombies that seemed within his hand's reach. 'That means, these souls have been stuck here for 1238 years.'

He turned back towards Octiv.

"The undead can stay as they are without their soul; the zombies must be allowed to pass on. You have kept these souls from moving forward to the next step for too long."

Octiv scoffed. "Moving forward, to what Hell or Heaven do you want their journey to end? They are happy with their comrades here, Heaven, Hell or my dimension, what is the difference?"

"Do you think Heaven or Hell are the end?" Raghav leaned back as Octiv's eyes frowned. "They are."

Raghav gently shook his head as he gestured with his hands. "This was the truth the Sages and Saints know. Life is not linear, you are born, you live, you die, then go to the afterlife."

Octiv's lips parted slightly. "If it is not linear, then?"

Raghav smiled gently. "It is cyclic, you are born, you live, you die, maybe you go to the afterlife for some time to bathe in the rewards of your good deeds or receive the punishment for some bad deeds, or you will skip the afterlife and enter the next path, rebirth, into what exactly, that depends on your deeds, maybe a bacterium, a dog, a horse, an orc, elf, deity and if you have the blessings of the one you receive Human life."

"The only life capable of escaping this cycle of illusion and dream. There is no salvation or damnation; these are lies, and the only truth is what lies beyond, what lies within. The soul is the only piece of truth, a fragment of the supreme soul, The One himself."

Octiv stood up, pushing his chair back. "If you know all this, then why have you not escaped yet? Why are you not there? Is it because you fear it? Do you fear death?"

Raghav looked up at Octiv. "No, believe it or not, death, while being nothing but a cosmic tool to pluck the soul from the husk after the life force leaves, is needed to leave this body of illusion and remerge within thyself."

Raghav stood up, dusting his thighs. "Death is but a moment, it will come when it is my time and then I will return where I belong, Mister Octiv, As long as I am alive, I am not dead and once I am dead, there's no me, then what is there to fear, however, if I had to choose to fear something, it would be that I fail to make this life my last."

Octiv's anger died down as his mouth was left open. "What do you mean?"

Raghav placed a hand on his shoulder. "If one fails to escape this dream in their life, the soul will be placed in another body made of illusion, some people remember their past life due to some past deeds, some linger as specters and ghosts, some possess other bodies but those that are reborn as humans, they forget all they had learned, they grow attached, they believe this is my first life and the pattern repeats."

Raghav turns around and walks away. "People die, bodies decay and turn to ash, the soul moves on, yet their deeds echo through this dream, their stories remain, these stories connect everything, and even The One connects to us through his story. So till come my time, I will continue to play the role I have."

Pausing for a moment, Raghav turned his head slightly to the right. "Do not lose hope, even though you have thrown away the chance you had to escape this dream when you rejected your humanity. Hope remains for you."

Octiv's head fell as he closed his eyes. "How do you know?" "Because I stand before you, what compelled you to meet me, what compelled you to talk with me, it was your longing to return to the source. As long as you have that longing to reach him, he will also long to reach you. Your longing only began after you took birth; he has been longing long before that."

"The One makes his own words false to uphold the words of his followers. Find one who would take you under his care."

Octiv looked up, his eyes getting wetter. "Where do I find them?" "You already know."

Octiv's mouth widened, blankly staring at Raghav. "I understand."

He then looked down and forward. "Farewell, Raghav. I will find you at the end."

A portal then appeared before Raghav, connecting back to the trial room. "Thank you, Mr. Octiv, for opening this for me."

Raghav looked down at the zombies and extended his hand out, and soon all the zombies fell limp.

"They have reached the peace that they deserved. Goodbye, Mr. Octiv."

Raghav stepped through, finding himself back in the trial room. He grabbed the cloak from the hanger and took out his watch. "Only five minutes passed."

He then put the watch on his left wrist and donned the cloak, walking out and down the stairs to his left. At the bottom of the stairs, he arrived at the Guild Master's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Raghav opened the door and entered the room with lowered eyes. Mrs. Yrictor was standing beside the office table as Erich stood up. "Welcome back. Mr. Raghav."

"There is no need to call me mister, Raghav is just fine. Has my license been processed?"

Erich nodded, picking a rectangular silver card from the table and handing it to Raghav. "We used special steel procured from Kharundar to make a one-of-a-kind license for a one-of-a-kind Adventurer."

Raghav took the card, containing his image on the left side of the license, with his name, date of birth, his role as an All-Rounder and his Rank written to the right of his image.

Raghav narrowed his eyes on the rank. 'A Grand Master.'

He then looked at the Alias given to him. 'The Truth.'

Raghav flipped the card around, and on the back was a black symbol of the adventurer's guild. An upright sword with a shield resting on the cross guard, a staff emerging from the top and a bow at the top of the shield with its string drawn till the pommel of the sword.

He nodded, placing the license in his wallet. "That will be your license and adventurer ID. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

Pausing for a second, he nodded. "Yes, there is. Could you lend me a room in your guild tomorrow, and let it be known that I will be conducting interviews for the creation of my party, let it be known this will be a travelling party, we may be gone for a long time on a quest."

"What would that quest be?" "That information is classified; however, I can tell you what I am calling it, A Dead Man's Quest."

Erich closed his eyes. "Very well, the arrangements will be made."

Raghav reached into his jacket, pulling out ten bronze coins and a gold coin. "This is the fee for my adventurer application and for the services you will provide tomorrow. Tell them to arrive half an hour before eight in the morning, and make a list of them based on who arrived first. I will arrive at eight and interview them in the order they arrived."

Taking the coins, Erich placed them in the drawer of his office table. "It will be done."

After giving the elderly couple a polite nod. "Goodnight, Mr. and Mrs. Yrictor."

He left the room, walking down the stairs where Sarah was sitting with her head and arms resting on the desk. "Goodnight. Mrs. Sarah."

Raghav walked past the front desk as Sarah returned the pleasantry.

As he opened the door and stepped out onto the street. He was hit with cold winds as he looked at the clouds. "Looks like it is about to rain."

Raghav stood there taking deep breaths until he looked down, feeling someone yanking at his cloak.

He looked down and found Gati pulling his cloak with her teeth. "I know, time for dinner."

Gati moved to the side, letting Raghav mount her. "Forward."

Following orders, Gati rushed forward.

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The Royal family was having dinner in the dining hall. King Belreid had left out his steak and wine in favour of rice and water. An act followed by his wife, Queen Anessa and their son, Vonreid.

Aurelia was smiling as her family had finally given up the consumption of animals.

She then looked at the empty seat beside Vonreid, to her father's left. A plate was covering the food meant for the person who was supposed to be at the table.

The door opened as the family looked at the door and saw Raghav walk in. "My apologies, I took a little longer than expected to return."

King Belreid swallowed the food in his mouth. "It is alright, I apologise that we began eating before you returned. But may I ask why you are using your powers?"

Raghav sat on the 2nd chair to the king's left, beside Vonreid. "There is no need to apologise. As for the powers, I had to activate them and had them activated for a prolonged period. So I am thinking of stopping once I am in bed."

"I see."

He uncovered his food and joined his hands, closing his eyes before he began eating.

Aurelia looked at him, between bites, as did he, looking at her across the table.

"Did you get your license?" Raghav turned his attention to the king as he nodded, taking the license out of his wallet and handing it to the king.

The King rubbed his hand with the cloth before he took the license, and his eyes widened in shock. Even Reinhardt froze up as he looked down at the card from behind King Belreid.

"What is it, Father?"

Vonreid excitedly grabbed the license from his father's hand and looked at it. His eyes widened as he looked at Raghav, then back at the card. Aurelia and Queen Anessa looked at one another, confused as to why the men were reacting this way.

"You are a Grand Master?"

The father, the son and Reinhardt all spoke in unison. "I am."

Raghav responded before continuing to eat his dinner. Vonreid handed the card back to Raghav, who took it, placing it back in his wallet.

"That is very good, who knew that Vaughn's treachery would be a blessing of The One."

"What comes next?" Raghav looked at Queen Anessa. "I believe, a good night's rest, then if I wake up tomorrow, I will go back to the guild and form my party. After that, I need to meet with Martel about the items I will need for the journey, and once all that is said and done. I will head west on my quest."

He finished as he collected his utensils and organised them before standing up. "If that would be all. I will be heading to bed. Goodnight, everyone."

He then looked at Aurelia. "Goodnight." "Goodnight, Raghav."

The two smiled at one another before Raghav left the dining hall and headed to his room.

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He took off the jacket, placing it on the chair and took off his boots off placing them at the foot of the bed. He emptied his pockets, placing his phone and wallet on the table beside the sofa.

Then, finally taking off his sword belt, he placed it on the same table before climbing into bed as the glow disappeared, and he fell asleep.

 

 

 END OF VOLUME 1

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