Chương 19: Chapter 1.19: Challenge the Heavens

Favius scrambled back, tried to get the blanket off him, and regretted it instantly. Bright, glittering discharges prickled his skin, and the air around him stank of burned hair. What the fuck is happening? Are we under attack? He looked around the room, gasping at the lightning skittering over every surface. The air seemed to hum and felt heavy with power and a metallic odor. Finally, he saw Brutus. The man was sitting in a lotus position, alight with sizzling electricity.

His eyes burned bright blue, framing the blood running freely from his nose through his beard. He was the spitting image of a thunder god returned from war. Favius jerked back, and again electricity burned his legs. His heart pounded. But something tingled at the back of his mind. This electricity, it's— He touched his mattress, and as soon as his hand got close, he was stung. A spiderweb of lightning. Static electricity? He heard dozens of people screaming across the estate.

Another memory of something Brutus had said stirred at the back of his mind. But before he could focus, the cultivator groaned, and the room's charged atmosphere intensified. With Brutus at the center, waves of discharges danced over every surface in the room and stung Favius, who hissed more in fear and surprise than pain. What the fuck is going on with Brutus? Is he— That was when the cultivator stood up and brushed a hand futilely through his weightless hair.

He ignored the electricity dancing between his fingers and how his hair instantly returned to standing out in all directions.

"Favius!" he hollered and took a step towards the bed. The boy swallowed hard. What have I done? Brutus took another step, groaned, and vomited blood. Favius pressed himself into the far corner of the room, his heartbeat almost loud enough to drown out the sizzling electricity. He heard pounding footsteps in the corridor, but whoever was there wouldn't reach him in time. Brutus pushed himself back to his feet, his face stretching into a rictus grin, pink teeth framed by a bloody beard. Then he charged.

Favius kicked, but it felt like hitting a wall as Brutus grasped him in his arms and pulled him off the bed.

"I did it! I did it!" he hollered in Favius's face, squeezing him till his ribcage cracked. Then it hit Favius. Brutus had said that the heavens brought tribulation lightning down anytime a cultivator advanced. As the man shook him and he was stung by more discharges, he began laughing alongside Brutus. Holy shit, this tribulation lightning is a lot more literal than I expected.

Relief washed through him just as the door burst open and two bronze-clad guardsmen charged into the room, shields up and short swords at the ready. Brutus turned around, still holding Favius, then shifted him to one arm.

"Put me down!" he hissed indignantly and struggled. Brutus, with a smirk, lowered him to the floor. The guardsmen were tense but didn't seem too worried. A silence stretched as Brutus looked at them, his face still a wide, bloody grin.

"Is it—is it over?" one of them ventured.

"It is indeed," Brutus said, his voice rough and hoarse. Then he chuckled. He briefly glanced at Favius before addressing the guardsman.

"Understanding truly is everything, and all power follows insight," he said, as if quoting something, then he laughed and slapped Favius on the shoulder.

"I knew the truth my entire life, but I have been blind for so long." And Favius could do nothing as the cultivator picked him up, hugged him again, and spun him around. He absentmindedly noted how the man's bloody beard stained his hair in turn. Then he erupted into giggles. This is so fucking absurd, waking up in the middle of the night to this.

"Well, I believe congratulations are in order, then." Brutus tensed at Marcus's voice, and the senator entered the room in a simple nightgown. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The cultivator smiled more broadly.

"They are indeed. I've advanced further towards the heavens." Marcus hummed, studying the room by the light of the oil lamp in his hand.

"I must say, the breakthrough felt strange. I've never experienced a second wave of power." Brutus smiled and hesitated for a moment before sighing.

"That's because I did not earn a single insight, but two." Marcus's eyes widened.

"Two insights? Truly?"

"Indeed." Favius's eyes widened. He remembered that Brutus had told him he held eighteen insights. With twenty, that means— But Marcus continued before he could finish the thought, speaking in a slightly amused tone.

"So will the Republic soon have its twenty-sixth Transcensor?" Brutus smiled mysteriously, then chuckled.

"It will, and much sooner than you think." Marcus nodded and turned to leave, but Favius stepped forward.

"Father!" Marcus paused, looking over his shoulder. His face was silhouetted by the light of the oil lamp, though Favius could still make out every detail as if in daylight.

"Yes?"

"You need to do something. Hesnia is keeping me and Urania from—" Marcus turned around and snorted.

"I do not see how squabbles between my wife and children should concern me. Work it out on your own." Favius grit his teeth. Not concerned by issues in his family? What kind of father is he? But he swallowed his response, realizing how weak it would sound. Marcus shook his head while walking down the corridor, followed by the guards. Favius turned to Brutus, who embraced him again. After closing the door, Brutus whispered, pressing his forehead into the boy's, "Thank you, Favius.

This—I always knew I could go this far, but—" He laughed again.

"Two insights at once." Favius looked around. I could ask which insights he gained, but… I shouldn't do it here.

"So what's the plan?" Favius asked. Brutus spoke in a rush.

"Oh, I still have much to digest of what you told me. I'll need to make arrangements for challenging the fifth rank, but do not worry. With your knowledge and my talent, you will soon have a sworn protector that shall be the envy of everyone in the Republic." They continued talking in low tones as night slowly turned to morning, neither of them able to get back to sleep. The morning training was dominated by talk of cultivation, and Brutus shared his knowledge more freely than usual.

He instructed Favius in greater detail on his meditation on the insight of endurance, while dodging a few more of Caliga's attempts to land a hit on him. As the four of them left the baths, Tiro was waiting for them. He lowered his head.

"Your tutor, the honorable Norvius Lector, has requested your presence in the lecture hall." Favius sighed as Brutus and Caliga chuckled, while Urania looked worried. He shrugged.

"Well, let's get it over with." They settled into the lecture hall and waited. Brutus sat in the back corner, studying the wax tablets on which Favius had written out his manuscript on basic mathematics. He occasionally made notes on a tablet of his own. While his sisters played with knucklebones, Favius reflected on Cassian. Last time— He tapped a finger to his lips and sighed. Was it wise what I did? Challenging my tutor this way? He shook his head. No. The man was an arrogant asshole and got what he deserved.

Whatever he tries now, I'm not going to back down. Before he could think further, Cassian walked through the door. Only five minutes late this time. Seems like we've gone up in the world. Favius smirked at the man's back as he settled at his desk and studied the three children and the cultivator. Cassian lowered his head.

"Ovinius Kestrelo, I heard of your breakthrough. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Brutus said stiffly. Cassian nodded curtly.

"I believe your wards are in my capable hands now, as per our agreement, so you may leave." Brutus merely gave a low, rumbling chuckle.

"You see, I've heard that you are quite fond of enhancing your rhetoric by waving sticks about when addressing your opponents." Brutus stroked the shaft of his axe.

"As a fellow enthusiast of that art, I think I'm going to stay and witness your lecture." Cassian took a step back, but instantly regained control of his expression. He took a deep breath, then nodded.

"Very well." He turned to Favius.

"I must admit, boy, I did not expect someone of your ability. Yet a philosopher's skill is not mere calculation. So I've decided that today I am going to test you, as I would test a young philosopher, in the arts of mathematics." Favius raised an eyebrow. The tone is almost respectful. Maybe he isn't as bad as I thought? Let's see where this leads. He shrugged and smiled.

"Then let us begin, Tutor." Urania leaned forward, while Caliga continued sorting her knucklebones, watching from the corner of her eyes. Cassian stood up and walked to one side of the room, then grabbed a small stone from a pouch.

"I have prepared to hold discourse with you on three problems. Let us see if you manage to hold your ground." With those words, he held up the stone like an artifact and slowly mimed tossing it across the room.

"If you toss a stone at a tree, the stone must first reach half the distance." He stopped in the middle of the room.

"Then it must continue another quarter of the distance. But then it must again reach half the remaining distance." He moved the stone in ever shorter, staccato steps toward the wall.

"So it shall take infinitely many steps and can never arrive." Cassian smiled, and this time it held genuine curiosity. A glint of intrigue shone in his eye. He tossed the stone to Favius.

"How will you respond?"