Rise Of The Spatial Dragon

"Welcome Adventurer! Step forth and take up the challenge left behind by the Great Lord Keeling!" Kedan found himself in front of what appeared to be a street, but there was only one house. As though that was not subtle enough, there stood an android to welcome the adventurer.

Looking carefully at the house, a small smile came upon his face. This was one of the houses that Dane and Kedan had lived in some obscure world. At this time, Kedan had just gained his first pod. These were memories that had been buried deep in his consciousness that came rushing forth.

For beings at the level of Grade D and above, there wasn't much that eluded them especially when it came to their control over their consciousness, memories, and the soul. This was the level that one stopped being a body and soul and officially become the immortal soul.

It had to be known that reincarnation pods were extremely powerful magic. To be able to extract a soul, send it to another's body for unlimited time and still be able to return the soul to the body locked in the pod. This was no small matter. Therefore, their usage and even their access were extremely regulated by all factions. Such a magical device couldn't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.

Therefore, for faction protectors, it was a mark of achievement to be able to earn the right to have and operate a pod, as this was where a faction protector excelled at best. And what were the qualifications you ask?

According to the Maa Faction curricular, one was said to have graduated the moment they broke through the expert rank to achieve what was beyond. This was a great chasm that separated the realms of gods and men. In Galactic terms, one became a Grade D Super.

What was a Grade D Super? Someone who's lifespan was officially limitless. They could live forever unless something happened. Death to them was a non-issue. Dealing with such foes was an incredibly difficult task and even higher Grade Supers had to expend energy to not only deal with the body but also utterly eradicate the soul. Only then could they be said to eradicate their foes.

As his Big Brother, one of the roles Dane played in Kedan's life was to guide him through the first experience. It wasn't an easy task. The first time, he was supposed to experience the whole process. From birth, live through life as a human, awaken abilities and rise to the very pinnacle of the society. It served as a test and a form of inauguration into Faction Protection.

Imagine living through the process of the formation of your body in your mom's w.o.m.b. Feeling every moment and having nothing better to do. Given that at that point this was full immersion, no being could split their consciousness and go elsewhere. All one could do was endure and find a way to pass the time.

The best he could do was eavesdrop on his mom's conversation, forming a bond with her right from the start. He even started absorbing energies from the world right from the w.o.m.b, making the mother even more powerful.

As this was a guided reincarnation, they had selected a couple, and both the brothers had become real brothers. That a moment to imagine that. A mortal couple was selected randomly, and unto them were born 2 beautiful bouncing baby boys. Not that the mortal couple minded, they lived to have 2 extremely talented and extremely powerful sons who went on to become kings, the elder serving the younger.

Dane was the elder, Kedan the younger. He was there to look out for Kedan for the duration during his rise, and after that watch as him become king. This was the set parameter, to rise to the absolute top of leadership. Once this was done, one could become an official Faction Protector, capable of taking jobs involving reincarnating to achieve a goal.

In this obscure world, this was the house they grew up in. As Kedan walked in, a smile flashed his face as dear memories came flooding back. He took the time to explore, see how much detail Dane or whoever was orc.h.e.s.trating this had put in place. Remember, even though this was a verification process, Kedan still also needed to verify that this message had been left by Dane.

This was the reason the Quest was drawn from shared memory. Memories that both remembered. Kedan rushed upstairs to where his room was, there was something that he always kept hidden from Dane. By the time they were old enough and powerful enough for Dane to be able to uncover the secrets, the house had burned down, its secrets with it. Kedan wanted to see if Dane had known what was there.

Checking his treasure, he found a note. Picking it up, he realized it was beginning to combust. He quickly pricked his finger and dropped some blood on the paper, verifying it was him. The paper transformed back to its original state.

As he inspected it, he realized its contents, which had been invisible before then, were also encrypted. Dane guessed that some people would probably sack the house in an attempt to find the treasure, and this was just one of the many worries. As such anything he left behind that was of actual value could not be left in the open.

Even after someone managed to get their hands on this doc.u.ment, they would probably not understand anything in it, even after decrypting it. This was a message left for Kedan alone, for the note said:

"I knew you would look. Yeah, I never did find out what was in your hiding place, so you can stop fretting over it finally. Anyway, I hope by now you have noticed the girl is special, she's the real prize if you know what I mean."

Kedan laughed at the message. He even got confirmation on a certain issue that had been bugging him, and he nodded to himself thinking, his Hexham gems were well used.

Dane was notorious as a big brother growing up especially after he awakened his abilities. He would make it a habit to set a formation on his door, such that with the right unlock, one could enter a dimension he'd set up.

The first time he'd set up the prank, it had been to his mother. He had given her quite the fright. It was a common tale in the little family. The mother loved to retell the story with pride even after she became a great grandmother.

That aside, if ever there was going to be some secret Quest, this had to be it.

When he first opened there door, nothing happened, just a normal door. It was to be expected, after all, Dane couldn't leave his secrets lying around. The second try though was a trick both had invented. Instead of turning the doorknob once, it went around twice, only then could one enter the real Quest.

It may seem an easy thing now, but any intruder would be hard-pressed to guess that that was the way to get in. Soon after Kaden entered the room, it changed once more, and he found himself walking into an arena.

It was as though he was standing in a pit with high walls all around it. Looking up, he saw where the audience should seat. Rows of empty seats all around him, with him as the entertainment. From a corner, he saw someone seated in a far edge. Kaden had been in such arenas before, and he knew that place the human was seated was the VIP lounge area.

As he was observing, the doors of the other side opened up to let out his opponent.

Tentacles for hands, mandibles where the mouth should be. The monster was man-sized and given how horrific it looked, its size served to magnify its ugliness. The thing had four monstrous-looking tentacles where the arms should be. It's arms tapered to form sharp bony edges that looked more like swords than arms.

This was the stuff of nightmares, and anyone who dared intrude would leave screaming at first sight. Only those with considerable willpower could even dare stand at its wake, much less dare to fight it. It looked like it was born and bred for one purpose, to end lives.

It seemed to be shrouded in darkness, and there was a certain eerie feeling it gave off, as though it could see through all that was someone. A mere gaze alone was enough to scare a fully grown a.d.u.l.t warrior.

While it was such an intimidating process, to Kedan, it felt like nothing. This was not because of how powerful and strong he was, but rather, because he was the one that designed it in the first place.

This was one of his earliest memory creating illusions. It was during that training that Dane dared him to imagine the most frightening thing he could. Not wanting to disappoint, this was what he had imagined. Of course, years later he came to see just how limited he was in his imagination. Was he to be given such a task again, the result would be truly terrifying.

For now, he had to fight his creation. One that he knew its every weakness.

However, just as he was about to begin the fight, he felt something weird happen, he lost all his abilities, and a sword materialized in front of him. At that moment, he was nothing more than a mere mortal. A bitter smile flashed across Kedan's face, 'You couldn't let me have it that easy, could you big bro?'

Picking up the sword, he moved to the offense.

The first strike was probing, he wanted to see just how strong and capable this monster he was fighting was. The sword strike was met with a raised claw, instantly nullifying the attack. Kedan was shocked slightly.

One thing about these Supers was that, though they could temporarily have their magical abilities taken away, their bodies never lost its attributes. Kedan knew just how strong he was, and to say that he could lift an entire building was no exaggeration. It had been quite a while since he had met anyone who could best him at strength, especially when he was in his original body.

This being or monster in front of him must be a perfect match in terms of strength. Slight frustration appeared on Kedan's face. He also thought about all those who had tried this quest before him. If they were not at Grade C at the very minimum, they stood no chance at all. Knowing how vast the universe is and how small and obscure this tiny planet was, there wouldn't be many Grade C Supers running around taking quests.

Kedan decided to get serious. Brandishing his sword, he struck at his opponent with dizzying speeds. His attacks were so fast that few would even keep up. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he never made any leeway. Somehow, there would be a claw waiting to block or deflect his sword strike.

10 minutes passed quickly with Kedan trying every attack he could think of. He was even sweating on his brows. All around them, the arena was completely destroyed, showing the power of the combatants on it.

Taking the time to look at the monster, Kedan had a newfound respect. This quest was proving to more difficult than he thought it would be. In his strain, he thought he'd imagined that smile that flashed across the monster's face, but it's words confirmed what he saw,

"If you are done with your attacks, it's my turn!"