The Titan's Throne

Four Words

Bastian was in the white room, talking to Li, and Li's solution to his current problem was to become Soul Sworn Brethren with the white-haired boy.

Bastian had never heard of the phrase, thus his reaction was to question Li further.

"Soul Sworn are beings bound together by a contract that links their souls. Less educated people assume that only the relationship of Master and servant can be achieved, but there is a more complex relationship, where both parties are equals", said Li.

"How would that help in this situation?" said Bastian after thinking for a while.

Li smiled and continued, "It's simple. As a Meister I am sure you know that you're able to share information between you and your servant, such as your servant's whereabouts.

With the Soul Brethren contract, you are able to share far more than just information. For example, in this situation, you can take on some of this boy's burden".

As soon as Bastian heard this his eyes widened in surprise. But he quickly regained his wits and said, "That poison is far above what I can handle, I'm not willing to go as far as to risk myself for a stranger".

Bastian did want to help the boy, but not to the point where he puts himself at risk, especially when such a powerful poison was involved.

"Your bloodline can prevent that. You awakened the blood of the Tyrian Double Headed Storm Dragon. One of the advantages of that bloodline is particularly useful in this situation".

"What advantage?" The fact that Li knew so much about him did not come as a surprise to Bastian, seeing that Li did exist in his body, but he wanted to use this chance to know more about his new body.

"It's a bit difficult to explain, but let me put it to you like this.

The spirit of this poison is one that relies on upsetting the balance of Soul Energy in one's body. To create this energy, one has to have quite the achievements in the Supreme Dao of the Taiji and the Spirit. Your Soul is incredibly powerful, so as far as the Spirit side is concerned you are good to go.

The Tyrian Double Headed Storm Dragon was a beast that had sovereignty over the Supreme Dao of the Taiji. In other words balance. Your body has some control over the laws of balance, and you subconsciously seek balance.

If the poison attempts to attack your soul whilst it is within your own body, then your bloodline will interfere due to the imbalanced nature of the poison, thereby assisting in nullifying the poison.

You may not realize this yourself, but part of the reason you are so interested in this boy is because your bloodline makes you want to fix imbalances. The stronger the imbalance, the more you are enticed to act."

Bastian was baffled by what he had been told. He somewhat understood that this man was talking about some profound universal laws, but what surprised him the most was that Li's words were making sense.

Bastian had told himself that he was acting out of pity and his curiosity when helping the boy, but something in the back of his mind had told him that there was another reason.

Now it makes sense.

After hearing Li's explanation, Bastian started to see that Li was right. Every time he thought about the black energy inside the white-haired boy's body, something would put him in a bad place mentally, giving him the urge to fix the white-haired boy.

Bastian was still mulling over the information Li had given him, when more information suddenly started flooding into his mind. Thousands of images of runes, spells and other odd creatures like plants started flooding into his mind. Each of these images came with corresponding information involving what was being shown.

After spending some time sorting out the information, Bastian shook his head as he felt a slight headache.

"What the heck is this stuff you put in my head?" Said Bastian rather displeased.

He's already done? He already processed all that information? What an incredible soul for a mortal.

"This is information about basic magic involving souls and certain bloodlines. In case you don't believe me", said Li in a smug tone.

Bastian frowned. He didn't like the idea that his mind was affected so easily. To him mental security was a sensitive matter.

Li sensed the tension. He was no fool, so he quickly apologized and promised to not do something like that again without Bastian's opinion.

Bastian was still not pleased, but he couldn't help but admit to himself that this information was very useful.

It would take years to learn all of this. This is equivalent to all of the work I did in college!

"Now then, do I need to say anymore for you to take action? Because people are on their way, and they would never allow you to do want you want to do", said Li mysteriously.

"Huh?" said Bastian confused.

Li merely smiled and snapped his fingers.

The next moment, Bastian was back in his cell.

Sigh, when will I stop being taken to random places?

After adjusting his mind, Bastian looked over the information in his mind, to make sure that Li's idea was a good one.

After thinking for a few seconds, Bastian bit his finger. Groaning in pain, Bastian carefully drew a rune on the ground, then on himself and the white-haired boy.

It was at this point that Bastian could smell people coming. These scents were new, and assuming that Li was correct, these people would be coming for him.

Bastian then contacted the white-haired boy's skin, allowing him to operate his Soul Force. He then closed his eyes so he could focus.

At some point, he could hear footsteps, and voices that seemed to be arguing. Then he blacked out, sinking into darkness.

...

In the beautiful sky, far, far away from the Sovereign continent, in an area that is not accessible by ordinary means, stood an immense structure floating in the sky.

It was a large golden city. Different kinds of buildings, from large to small, covered most of its surface. They were all unique in some way. Be it in shape, size and position. Yet they all had something in common, gold.

All of the structures were golden, shining brilliantly in a manner that made it hard to dislike. The entire city, from top to bottom, was covered in those golden buildings, making the entire city shine, its splendor made it look like it was made by the caring hands of deities. Or rather to be more accurate, it was.

The city had many floating structures above it, giving one the impression that the city was divided into levels. Judging from the outer appearance, one could even say that the higher one went, the sites were more lavish and the surroundings looked more imposing.

At the highest level of the city stood only one building, this building was the tallest and the most beautiful of them all. It stood erect, like a golden sword piercing the heavens.

In front of the building was a garden, which had many people wandering around in it. Every one of these people were extraordinary, be it in bearing or in appearance.

With a flash, a figure appeared within the garden. No one reacted, as if this was a normal occurrence. This figure was a man. It was Li; the same Li who had claimed to be Bastian's Avatar Li was dressed in robes that seemed to be the perfect balance between lavish and simple. He walked through the garden, seemingly unnoticed.

This did not bother him at all. He simply walked on, with the same calm smile he always had. He arrived in front of the entrance to the building.

Two armored guards were standing there, fully equipped and exuding a powerful aura.

As soon as Li arrived in front of them however, they immediately kneeled and shouted out, "Minister Li!"

Li nodded his head and said, "One of you go to the Emperor and tell him that I am convening a meeting of the Investors."

The guards opened their eyes in surprise when they heard what Li said, but they still reacted quickly. One guard's silhouette flashed, leaving the other kneeling in front of Li.

"That will be all." said Li as he waved his hand. Li walked into the entrance, leaving a surprised guard by the door. Although he had straightened out his expression in time, his heart was still in turmoil.

Minister Li is calling for a meeting of the Investors. That means he has finally chosen a candidate!

The normally stoned hearted guard shivered at the effects of this event.

...

In a room were two people. They were seated and were playing a simple game of chess. One of the people was a young woman. She was incredibly beautiful. Her skin was perfect. Her eyes were enchanting and her figure was obvious even under the robes she was wearing.

The other was a middle aged man. He looked very intelligent and always seemed to have a devious smile on his handsome face. His body exuded a confidence that had a magnetic effect amongst those who observed him. The young woman included.

"Lord Filo, I am uncomfortable with the way things are at the moment." said the young woman as she moved a piece.

"What is it Lady Maya?" said the middle aged man referred to as Lord Filo.

"The other side has been too quiet. They are not doing anything, due to their lack of activity, the other Ministers are worried." said Maya.

Filo merely smiled and said nothing, as if he was waiting for something. And sure enough, it came.

"Especially Minister Li, these past few months he has been too quiet. Its bothering me." said Maya.

"Maya, you are relatively new to the court, so allow me to correct you on something." said Filo mysteriously.

Maya looked up, making sure to pay attention. Seeing this Filo continued, "Li is not with the other side."

"Lord Filo, are you saying he is on our side? That is difficult to believe."

"I didn't say he is on our side."

"Then has he joined a new coalition? I wasn't informed of this. How a coalition could be formed so quickly."

"He didn't join a new coalition either."

"Then who has he joined?"

Filo put a piece down onto the board and said "Checkmate." Maya could care less about the game, and Filo saw that as well.

He laughed and decided to finish what he had started. "Li does not join sides. He by himself is a force to be reckoned with."

Maya giggled, disdain clearly visible in her eyes. "Lord Filo, Minister Li is cunning, but I assure you we have him cornered. Although his lack of activity has bothered us, it could be due to the fact that we have suppressed hi-"

"Nonsense." said Filo in a chilling tone. Maya saw his frown and shut up. She knew that when talking to this man, there are certain times to keep quiet. Now was one of those times.

"If Li is quiet, it means one of two things: One, he is planning something and is moving cautiously. Two, his plan is already has already been put into effect." said Filo.

Maya thought for a while, and after she could no longer bear it she spoke, "But Lord Filo, all the most impressive Mark Bearers have been taken, the ten year time period is almost up, so this next batch will effectively be the last. The previous batch has been screened thoroughly, so he must be planning something, it's unlikely that he can do anything without—–"

Before Maya could finish saying her thoughts, the door was opened and a servant hurried in.

"Minister Diver, Minister Filo. A meeting of Investors has been convened by—"

"I thought I said no interruptions!" shouted Maya. She was embarrassed and feared she had lost face in front of Filo, and was planning to take it out on the servant.

The servant squealed in fright and prostrated, "I apologize Minister Diver, but I am following your instructions!"

"Which instructions?" said Maya.

"You told me to report if Minister Li makes any movements." said the quivering servant.

The entire time Filo had been quietly observing the servant with a somewhat bored expression on his face, until he heard the name 'Li'.

A loud breaking noise resounded throughout the room. Maya and the servant were surprised and looked for the source, only to find that Minister Filo, who was famous for his composure, had destroyed the armrests on his chair!

Maya knew very well why he had reacted the way he had. She had a grim expression as well. As she was about to tell the servant to explain, Filo's chilly voice echoed through her ears, "What did he do?"

Since her birth, Maya had never thought four words could be so powerful.