The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

”It started when I arrived at the conference room inside the main castle at the center of the camp,” Ravian began, all four of them watching him with their full attention.

”I met those faction leaders — boring lot — and recognized three out of the five. Frank, Caesar, and my teacher’s daughter: Isabelle.”

”What?!” Darius shot upright. ”You actually met the Dmitri family’s first archer?”

”You know her?” Ravian asked.

”Know her? We all know exactly who she is. She’s the finest archer in this entire camp — someone who merges the art of the bow with magic, especially the path of ice she chose to walk.” Darius said, making no effort to hide how much he envied Ravian’s luck.

”He is one of Commander Isabelle’s most devoted admirers,” Kael said to Ravian.

”Please, continue.”

”Shh.” Kael turned to Darius and drew his finger slowly across his throat in a pointed gesture.

”Ahem. Sorry — please, go on,” Darius said, clearing his throat and pulling his composure back together with some effort.

”As I was saying — the time I had there only allowed me to get to know those three, and...” Ravian trailed off mid-sentence, uncertain whether he was allowed to share what he had heard in that room.

”And then what?” all four said at exactly the same moment.

”Hmm... alright.” Ravian scratched the back of his head, genuinely unsure what to do. Stopping now would kill the atmosphere completely.

He quickly found a middle ground.

”Have any of you heard of something called... Fate?” Ravian said, activating Absolute Focus to make sure he kept his thoughts clear of any specific details that might drag him back into that state again.

”Fate? One of the Fourteen Taboos?! What about it?” Malrik said abruptly, his expression shifting from easy to serious in an instant.

’Good — they already know the name. A simple mention like that should be fine then,’ Ravian thought briefly.

”They brought it up at the meeting as an example — to explain the Fourteen Taboos to me, since I’ve been somewhat cut off from the wider world and genuinely don’t know much about any of it...” Ravian said, his gaze drifting to the oil lamp hanging in the tent, and he paused for a moment.

”But the moment that name was spoken, Faction Leader Frank lost his composure briefly before Sir Karius helped stabilize him. And Frank wasn’t the only one it affected.” Ravian finished and looked at them.

”You as well?” Elias asked, as concise as ever.

Ravian nodded.

”But how? If you didn’t know anything about it, the reaction should have been minimal at most,” Kael said, pressing his hand to his chin in thought.

”Are you saying, Ravian, that you lost consciousness the moment you heard the word ’Fate’ tied to the Fourteen Taboos?” Malrik asked, pressing for confirmation.

Ravian paused for a moment. But he was fairly certain that if saying this carried any real danger, Karius would have put precautions in place — and since Antonius hadn’t come to warn him the moment he woke up, it was probably safe to tell them.

”Yes. The moment Faction Leader Frank said that name, that’s what happened to me,” Ravian confirmed.

”That’s impossible! You were unconscious for two full days just from hearing a name? But you just said it now — and you’ve thought about it more than once — so why hasn’t the same thing happened?” Kael’s eyes went wide.

A smile nearly broke through on Ravian’s face, but he kept it down.

”I genuinely have no idea,” Ravian said, lifting both shoulders.

”Did they tell you about the rest of the Fourteen Taboos, Ravian?” Malrik said suddenly.

Ravian looked at him and caught the curiosity in his eyes.

”Malrik, you idiot — don’t even think about naming them!” Kael snapped at him, fast and sharp.

”They are called...” Malrik opened his mouth slowly.

”Noooo!” Kael launched himself off his bed and across to Malrik’s in one motion.

”I’m joking, I’m joking — stop!” Malrik burst out laughing, nimbly dodging Kael and hopping from bed to bed while Kael chased him, his two short daggers already somehow in his hands without anyone having seen him draw them.

”Don’t joke about things like that, you idiot commander! What are we supposed to do if that state comes back over him?!” Kael shouted, still in pursuit.

”But who are the rest, actually?” Ravian said suddenly.

Both Kael and Malrik slipped when they heard it, while Elias and Darius — who had been quietly laughing — froze in place.

”Hah?” Malrik stared at him, unable to believe his ears.

”I asked you — what are they called?” Ravian repeated, stressing each word with a dry smile aimed at all of them.

”By the Creator — are you actually planning to take another two-day vacation from training and missions on purpose?” Malrik said, raising an eyebrow.

”You can’t take that risk, Ravian,” Kael said, his usual cold, serious expression back in full force.

”We don’t know whether it’ll affect you the same way, or whether it could be worse — or whether nothing will happen at all. I’d rather you not find out, or at the very least, Sir Karius should be here to wrap you in his soul power if something goes wrong.”

He wasn’t joking about Ravian’s safety. He never did.

”Don’t worry, guys — I know what I’m doing. And frankly, it’s better to know now than to have an enemy say one of those names in front of me later and get me killed in a moment of weakness,” Ravian said calmly, looking directly at Kael.

Kael hesitated when he heard the reasoning — but someone else was more decisive.

”The Truth,” Malrik said, his eyes fixed on Ravian’s.

Kael’s expression flipped to pure shock as he stared at Malrik with wide eyes.

”Malrik — have you lost your mind?!” Kael shouted.

”Calm down, Kael,” Elias said, three words and nothing more.

”You too, Elias?” Kael turned to him in disbelief.

”Look.” Elias gestured with a tilt of his head toward Ravian’s bed.

Kael turned — and what he saw was just Ravian sitting there, relaxed, wearing that particular smile of his, watching all of them.

”I think I’m... fine?” Ravian said, tilting his head left and right in a thoroughly unhelpful mock self-assessment.

”You’re... fine,” Kael repeated, staring at him.

But it seemed the matter wasn’t settled yet.

”The Covenant,” Malrik continued, not taking his eyes off Ravian for a second, watching intently for any sudden change.

”Justice.”

”Mercy.”

”Freedom.”

”Fate.” Malrik said, completing the sixth name.

With each one, Ravian’s heart struck with a force that matched what he had felt in the conference room — yet so far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Kael, Darius, and Elias were watching Ravian, their own hearts beating almost as fast as his, as Malrik pressed on — and now only one name remained from the Seven Saviors.

”Balance,” Malrik said — and began letting his readiness ease out of him the moment he confirmed Ravian was entirely fine.

Ravian, on the other hand, felt his heart settle in a strange, different way when the last name was spoken.

”Hmm?” He pressed his hand lightly to his chest.

”Are you alright?” Kael moved over to check on him.

”Completely,” Ravian nodded.

”Those were...?” Ravian asked, just to confirm.

”Yes — those were the Seven Saviors,” Malrik confirmed with an easy smile.

”I thought my heart was going to stop, man.”

”You’re saying that like you weren’t the one who started this whole thing,” Darius muttered under his breath.

”What did you say, Darius?” Malrik turned toward him.

”Nothing,” Darius said, playing the fool flawlessly.

”You damn bear — didn’t you hear him asking us to name them with your own ears?” Malrik snapped at him.

”No, no, I can’t hear you at all.” Darius immediately lay back down on his bed, produced two small bits of cloth from somewhere, plugged both ears, and left Malrik shouting at the air.

”That big oaf — I swear I’m putting you on night patrol tomorrow,” Malrik muttered, dropping back onto his own bed. Darius didn’t respond.

”Ugh. They act like children, not warriors who’ve killed dozens — if not hundreds — of enemies between them,” Kael said, pressing his hand to his forehead in quiet resignation.

”Idiots,” Elias said calmly, settling back onto his bed beside Malrik’s, across from Ravian, Darius, and Kael.

None of them noticed the small smile on Ravian’s face in that moment.

’It does work, actually.’

[Titles (New): Fate’s Manipulator.]

[You have succeeded in deceiving and manipulating one of the Fourteen Taboos — Fate.]

[You have obtained the title: Fate’s Manipulator. From this point forward, you will be immune to soul anomalies originating from the Fourteen Taboos. Your mental fortitude and soul resistance have increased tremendously.

Note: This resistance repels soul anomalies that operate through thought alone — however, the host must remain cautious of soul contamination that may arrive through a physical source, such as any living creature.]

’Soul anomaly...’ Ravian turned the term over in his mind, thinking about something, then let his eyes drift down to the new entry that had appeared in his status window.

[Physical Constitution: Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique — Progress: 15% (A critical stage in the transformation process.)]