The Elite Exalts.

They were the first true step on the long path of an Exalt. The Apprentice Exalt realm was the transition from mortal to Exalt, from ordinary to extraordinary. But it was in the Elite Exalt realm where an Exalt's true identity and powers awakened, such as their Elemental Spark and the Prinstyct.

The Elemental Spark governed which part of nature and reality an Exalt was most attuned to. An Exalt was the most powerful when working within the element that defined them; their Anima would take on the element's qualities and evolve into something more.

Gilbert's Elemental Spark was lightning, so his Ruler Anima had streaks of lightning-like patterns etched on its blade, and his lightning-based spells were incredibly potent. Celestina's Elemental Spark was light, making her Dragon Anima change its normal breath into a light beam and have radiant, bright scales.

The Prinstyct was the foresight of the third eye placed on their astral form. The third eye opened when a person entered the Elite Exalt realm and granted the Exalt the unique sight to see intent and ripples of future actions. The opening of the third eye was the true indication that a person was becoming something more than human, a strange and detached state from the norm that was mortals.

With these two powers in hand, the four foundations of an Exalt were all present, completing the person. Oscar read all about this and got many insights from his Elite Exalt friends. He already had the Prinstyct, thanks to Robert Raeven, so he only required the Elemental Spark to become a true Exalt.

Oscar sat upon a space in his living room. In front of him were all the elixirs he had accumulated for this day—several Ein Burst and Ein Amassing elixirs left on the back burner until he was ready. However, even with this large amount of elixirs, Oscar still wondered if it was enough.

As a Grade Four Exolsia, he knew he required more resources than others to break through, unlike the higher grades. Frederick and Mary broke through after using up everything they had saved up and more. Being a grade lower than those two and seeing the ordeal they went through, Oscar scrunched his face at his prospects.

"Well, it's not like I can't back down here." Oscar focused and took all the Grade One Ein Amassing elixirs. He opened and downed them all in one gulp. His eyes widened as he felt the large amounts of Ein swirling around, burning up inside his body as his skin reddened.

"Now!" Oscar drank half of the Ein Burst elixirs while keeping the unopened ones in his hands just in case. His core, the size of a marble surrounded by floating geometric shapes, started to spin so fast that Oscar couldn't see anything but a blur; the advancement process had begun. The geometric shapes started to spin around like celestial bodies but much faster.

His inner space trembled with ripples that echoed through the infinite space. Oscar saw his deer anima break apart and merge into the small marble core. But he did not worry because this was part of the process.

The most worrying part was the absurd amount of Ein flooding into his core. It was time for advancement, so it used every drop to facilitate the process. Oscar shouted in exertion and pain as he willed two of the geometric shapes to flatten out and merge, forming a thin object with no defined shape.

'It's that bad to form the shell?' Oscar coughed out blood. The first was the spinning and assimilation of the Anima, and then the second was forming a spherical shell like an egg around the small rotating core. 'I only have a part of the shell created, but I must keep it up.'

Controlled by Oscar's will, the geometric shapes began to flatten one by one and merge into the incomplete shell. Vein squirmed like worms all over Oscar's strained head as his nose started to bleed. His body grew pale as time passed.

"This won't hold me back!" Oscar shouted and kept it up. It had been two hours since the start, and he wasn't halfway done with the shell. Six hours later, the shell was complete and encased the core, which was still spinning.

Oscar opened his eyes with intent. He instantly drank the rest of the Ein Burst elixirs. "Hopefully, there is enough Ein for this."

The large influx of Ein flooded the shell's interior but soon disappeared as the core absorbed it. The core began to pulsate with bright light as it cracked, causing Oscar to vomit more blood. His vision began to dim, but Oscar clung to the small bit of resistance in his mind.

Cracks covered the core's surface, and it shattered with tremendous force and exploded, filling his dark inner space with light. Oscar yelled out as Ein burst from his eyes and mouth. A burst of Ein surged out of him, wrecking his living room like a hurricane had gone through until it all withdrew back into him.

Oscar panted like he had run several marathons, a waterfall of sweat all over him. But he felt his body was light but power engraved down to his bones. Oscar stood up, and the vials on his lap clattered to the floor.

Oscar saw a large blue sphere within his inner space, his new core. The shell Oscar forged with great effort was meant to be filled with Ein to the brim and become the new core. But the real prize was what lay in the center of the new core, the Elemental Spark.

The small marble that used to be his core was like an egg that cracked to reveal the Elemental Spark within. Oscar peered inside his core and saw an octahedron that looked like it was made of metal. Oscar tilted his head with a chuckle. "Metal? That is quite fitting for me."

In a way, people were predisposed toward the element that would soon represent them. Of course, there were different choices, like the 'Stone Gaze', but when it came to offensive and defensive spells, Oscar unconsciously chose metal-type spells.

Some did have varied choices, but a larger portion of their spells would reflect their future element. Oscar stared at the metal object that was his Elemental Spark, feeling the undulations of power that emanated from it. With a thought, he called forth his deer anima, expectant of its new changes.

The inner space trembled as a large deer came out of the Elemental Spark and trotted toward Oscar's astral body.

"Wow. You've changed so much." Oscar stared at his deer anima; it had grown larger than before, and its antlers had more branches and sharp tips. Oscar noticed the antlers were made entirely of metal, looking like it was made entirely of chainmail. The hooves had grown differently from ordinary deers, becoming large and closer to horse hooves, and made of metal that extended up parts of its legs; it was hard to tell where the metal started and where the fur ended.

The deer anima grunted and licked Oscar's cheek.

"Glad to see you're doing well." Oscar exited his inner space and decided to sleep the rest of the day. The advancement to Elite Exalt was far too draining and painful. Although he wanted to inform his friends, he was too tired to do so.

The next day, Oscar rushed to the usual training room where Celestina's group gathered.

"Os!" Frederick greeted him; he was sweating from his usual spar with Emily.

"It's great to see you." Emily smiled, but her eyes soon widened in shock. "You're an Elite Exalt now?!"

The entire group gathered around Oscar. Charles, Serena, Mary, Phillip, and Eleanor greeted Oscar.

Oscar looked around and asked, "Where is Celestina?"

"Sister is busy with some elders at the moment." Charles smiled. "Since you're an Elite Exalt, we can resume more of the sparring, right? I want to get back at you for using Prinstyct on a Greater Apprentice Exalt."

"Hold on." Oscar tried to avoid Charles' provocation. "I haven't gotten accustomed to the Eltie Exalt realm. I'll spar after I get some grade-two spells."

"Tch." Charles looked disappointed but didn't push on.

Serena came up and circled Oscar, giving him a look over. "Did you get more muscular?"

"Maybe." Oscar didn't think becoming an Elite Exalt affected his muscles. He gave himself a look over, not seeing anything different.

"Well, this calls for a celebration!" Eleanor smiled, as did Mary beside her. The two knew each other from before but had gotten closer after talking and training together.

The entire training room was abundant with activity as they cheered and bombarded Oscar with questions about how the advancement went and his new Elemental Spark.

"Metal?" Emily pondered. "That makes sense. I got earth element, after all."

Frederick possessed the wind element, Charles had light like his sister, Phillip was fire, Serena was water, Mary was lightning, and Eleanor was wood. Most of their training revolved around mastering the elemental power with their spells.

The makeshift party ended with Oscar leaving to get to the Neptune Archives. He ran up the stairs and found Celestina in their new safe spot, away from prying eyes. "Hey. We missed you at training."

Celestina looked up and sighed. "Sorry about that. The elders had some things to tell me about my progression. But it's all cleared up now." Her eyes scanned Oscar, and she slammed her hand on the desk. "You're an Elite Exalt now?!"

"Surprised?" Oscar laughed.

"Delightfully so!" Celestina had a bright smile.

Oscar spoke about the advancement and his Elemental Spark as Celestina listened attentively. Afterward, the two resumed reading; only the flipping of pages and their occasional conversations were audible in the library.

Celestina put down the book she was reading. "Now that you're an Elite Exalt, there's one thing I need to ask you to do."

Oscar pulled his eyes away from his book. "What?"

"Go on a mission with me."