Raziel was up before sunrise already prepared for the day ahead.
Dressed in casual clothings–a green long sleeved shirt with silver trousers. His hair was neatly tied behind his back.
Beside him was Avina. They met on the way with Avina briefing him on the previous day's events.
There had been a meeting between the children of Ash Sonoma, the Patriarch of the Shindo clan.
Avina was able to raise the topic concerning Raziel's claim to one of the family's numerous battle arts, giving his breakthrough into the Initial realm.
With the go-ahead granted by Ash Sonoma himself, no one dared interfere.
The Shindo clan was quite a large one. Its connections spread far and wide across the Northern region. The main base was located within the large mountain while the rest of the clan was built at the base of the mountain spreading out wide.
Currently, Raziel was being led through one of the most guarded areas of the manor.
He was able to sense several high-ranking figures hiding in the shadows. Most of them have the aura of Foundation realm exorcists.
He remembered being taught by the clan scholar of a power level created to promote order in the Exorcist society.
The world's energy was quite a strange energy they hadn't fully grasped. But one thing all know for sure was that the more one was able to absorb the energy of the world, the stronger they became.
The rank of the Exorcist was divided into six realms: Initial realm, Middle realm, Foundation realm, Ascendant realm, Supreme realm, and the Immortal realm. There were whispers of a hidden realm, one which was a myth and had never been reached by any Exorcist.
He didn't know how true that was.
With each breakthrough into a realm, humans were able to evolve, slowly break past their mortal limits and grow closer to becoming a higher existence.
Raziel stared at the pictures drawn across the hall. The same strange feral creatures with burning red eyes.
"It's a good thing I was born into the Shindo clan." He mumbled. The young heirs of the Shindo clan had been taught about the World's energy and how important it was in becoming an Exorcist.
The world energy was classified into two. Light and darkness. The light aspect is widely used by close to ninety percent of the Exorcist society today. The dark aspect is said to be a variant, and quite dangerous to use. Only a few dabbled with it.
One of such people was the Shindo clan. With the aid of Ash Sonoma, the Patriarch, they had been able to make ground breaking advancement in the dark aspect of the world's energy.
Right now the energy within him was dark energy though unrefined and still lacking but it was a perfect match for his innate ability–Devour.
...
"So, do you have any battle art in mind?" Avina asked as they advanced deeper down the floors, disrupting Raziel's thoughts.
Raziel couldn't help but notice the deeper they went, the more the temperature rose. He was beginning to get sweaty.
"I'm not sure. Would need to check out what they have first." He answered, wiping beads of sweat off his brows.
"Well, they've quite the collection, but I don't think anything there is gonna be of much use to you."
"It might be useless to me later on, but any stuff able to increase my strength right now is of great value to me."
They continued the remaining distance in silence before coming to a stop.
They had finally arrived at their destination.
The family vault of the Shindo Clan.
They stopped before a single black door, which had a large clear–cut crystal at the centre.
Avina took a step forward and then placed her fingers in her mouth. Biting it, blood flowed down her fingers. She didn't show much reaction as she casually placed the bleeding finger on the crystal, smearing it with her blood.
The crystal remained the same for some seconds before it finally began to glow.
"Alright. I wish you good luck." Avina said with a warm smile as she stepped back.
The crystal was now radiating a blinding light, bathing the hall in a red glow.
Raziel stepped forward as the door slowly began to open with a soft rumble.
"I'll be back in no time," he muttered before passing through. The door slowly shut back as Raziel advanced into the secluded space.
He slowly took in the sight before him. He wasn't disappointed with what he saw. Rather, he was quite surprised.
The vault consists of three layers. Right now, he was only granted access to the first layer and got to choose any battle art from there.
The room spanned several metres. It was filled with weapons, books, and old scrolls. Everything was neatly arranged with not a single speck of dust present.
"Hmmm. I guess I better start going through them. It's gonna take a while," he muttered, still fixed on the same spot.
He finally stepped forward, going through a couple of scrolls.
What he was looking for right now was something that would help greatly in boosting his strength.
He didn't need a battle sword art since he already possessed one–the one he used in his previous life: The Heaven Defying sword style.
It was a sword style he created during his rampage in the heavenly realm.
Though his body was still weak to endure such power, he didn't want to deviate from it. Rather, finding something that would complement it would serve as a great boon to him.
Raziel glanced through a couple of old scrolls, each containing a battle art.
Obsidian Tempest sword art: Generates dark current that amplifies damage with each strike.
Phantom drift: Each movement creates afterimages, masking real strikes.
Raziel glanced through more powerful arts the deeper he went. The library or whatever it was... was filled to the brim.
A few minutes later, he found himself in the centre of the room standing before a round platform with a single scroll on it.
The scroll was different from the usual ones around. This one bore various marks and appeared to be exceedingly old. It was extremely dark and seemed to absorb the light around it. Raziel could feel a slight aura emanating from the scroll.
Without even looking at the description on the shelf, he already knew.
The Abyssal Edge Art.
The art the inner most members of the family possessed. It was an ancestral inheritance meant to be passed down.
Glancing at the description, he looked back at the scroll.
"So it contains just the first three stages, huh? Should I go with it?"
Shaking his head softly, he decided to complete his check first before he decided.
And so, he advanced deeper. Raziel noticed this part of the room was filled with shadow, and the scrolls were getting scanty the deeper he went. Instead, body skins of various creatures lined the walls with more weapons.
Letting out a soft breath, he finally stopped.
"Ahhh. I guess there's nothing left."
The Abyssal Edge Art was the one that caught his interest the most.
"I guess this is it then."
As much as he hated to have something in common with them, he didn't have a choice.
This was a matter of strength, and he couldn't be picky.
Just as he turned around, a soft light caught his eyes. "Huh."
He stopped in his tracks, eyes tracking the source of the light.
"How did I miss that?" He muttered, walking towards a large bowl, which was filled with faded and patched out scrolls.
Yet amidst the lot, his gaze was fixed on one.
The scroll appeared to be made of silvery light with a large black star etched across the surface.
Stepping forward, his hands traced through the edge of the star.
And something strange happened–
[You've come across a unique battle art– Black Star Art]
[Does the host wish to bind with it?]