The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4) A. Kay (best management books of all time .TXT) 📖

What Uru and Pen and Blapy expected from him was far beyond his abilities. Each revelation had made him feel special while highlighting how impossible the task would be for him to complete. His life had stopped being his own.

And honestly, Ruwen didn’t want to go back and face any of it. The pressure of everyone’s expectations, coupled with what he viewed as a failure here, seemed too much. No one had asked him if he wanted to save the universe. In some ways, he felt like a tool, created and shaped for a specific task. It made him feel terrible.

Ruwen’s parents hadn’t exactly lied, but they had kept some important things from him. So many secrets. Literally everywhere. Everyone from his parents to Uru to Blapy. Even these Steps had secrets.

That made Ruwen pause. The Addas had made him take a soul oath promising not to discuss the secret Steps. He thought back to the oath.

Darkness Holds No Shadows

You have vowed never to use the Forbidden Steps of the Shadow Form until discussing their origin, use, and costs with Madda and Padda.

Reward: +1 Knowledge.

Reward: Audience with Shadow Clan.

Restriction: Bamboo Step Rank of Master Required.

Restriction: Viper Step Rank of Master Required.

Penalty (Broken Oath): Exiled from the Bamboo Viper Step Clan.

Penalty (Broken Oath): Marked for Death by the Bamboo Viper and Shadow Step Clans.

The very existence of this soul oath proved the Grandmasters kept secrets as well. It also meant a third set of forms called the Shadow Steps existed. He had assumed Mist was the Founder of Bamboo Steps and Thorn the Viper. Did that mean a third Founder existed? One for the Forbidden moves of the Shadow Steps?

Mist and Thorn had spoken with someone behind Ruwen when he’d stood by that headless statue. Had they been talking with this third Founder? One who obviously had wanted to stay hidden.

A surge of hope rose in Ruwen, but he quickly pushed it down. If the third Founder existed, why hadn’t they shown themselves when he arrived? He stood and walked around the rectangle building that held the crossing stone that would take him back home. But no mysterious third Founder appeared.

Ruwen strode back to the first temple and looked for anything out of place. Halfway around, he stopped and his heart thudded against his ribs. An arrow was embedded in one of the pillars. A stone arrow that looked identical to the ones in the quiver the headless statue wore.

Feeling a little foolish, Ruwen touched the arrow and spoke. “Is the third Founder here?”

“No,” a voice said from behind him.

Ruwen forced himself to turn slowly. A dark-skinned woman, identical to Mist and Thorn, leaned against the pillar behind him. Her eyes were so light blue they looked white.

“The third Founder is busy. I’m the first, and you can call me Dusk.”

Ruwen bowed deeply. “I am honored, Dusk. I did not notice you when speaking with your sisters.”

“I was there. You looked but did not see.”

Ruwen bowed again. “My apologies.”

“With training you will learn,” Dusk said and then tilted her head. “Do you know the difference between harmlessness and restraint?”

Ruwen shook his head.

“The capacity for violence.”

Ruwen considered the distinction and saw the truth in it.

“Thorn would approve of your helmet, but you are consistently restrained in your actions. Why?”

Ruwen didn’t answer immediately. This wasn’t the time to be flippant. Dusk didn’t seem in a hurry, so he thought about it, and the answer surprised him. “I grew up harmless, so I know the power of violence. A surgeon has more tools than a saw. So must I.”

Dusk nodded. “You are generous, and yet we have never had a soul here as heavy as yours. The ground trembles with your every step.”

That made Ruwen think of Sift. His friend always said “things” weighed the soul down. It was why he never took any loot. A sudden realization struck Ruwen. “Is that what I carried through the fog?”

“Yes, and Mist doesn’t understand how you can move. She was convinced you would never reach the summit. Oaths, gear, a Companion, a dungeon, and the hand of a god, clenched so tight around your soul, that even Mist can’t see it. My sisters think I’m wasting my time.”

The flame of hope in Ruwen’s chest flickered. “Why is it a waste?”

“Neither believe you will find your soul, and without that, you are an empty Master. Further advancement is impossible.”

“Oh,” Ruwen said, suddenly feeling a lot less optimistic.

Dusk laughed. “Cheer up. Neither one is great at seeing the hidden. They aren’t thinkers like us. You have already discovered some Shadow Steps, so finding your soul might be possible.”

“Thank you for believing in me.”

Dusk waved a hand at Ruwen. “I just want to keep an eye on you. Everyone you meet seems to get entangled with your fate. Even here, you collected a soul oath.”

Ruwen rubbed his right wrist where Echo had placed her blood name. “So those were actual people? I thought they were part of the trials.”

Dusk shrugged. “Everything is a trial.”

Ruwen looked down, thinking about all the trials he’d had since his Ascendancy. “I’ve noticed it, too. I’m like quicksand, smothering those close to me with danger.”

Dusk shook her head. “Do not carry other’s burdens. People only have themselves to blame.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Ruwen said, thinking of Ky. His curiosity overpowered his manners. “Can you tell me anything about your Steps?”

“What do you think they are?”

Ruwen frowned. “I believe the Shadow Steps were the original forms. I think you created the Viper and Bamboo Steps to hide the Shadow ones.” Ruwen thought about his fight with Phoenix. Ruwen had almost destroyed the pathways to the man’s Air Meridian. “I think the Steps can damage Spirit users.”

“Very good, Ruwen. Most think we just move through the Shadow Realm. But a few know our true power.”

“Which is?”

“We are god killers.”

Ruwen stared at Dusk in shock.

Dusk’s eyes grew distant. “Before the Enlightened One destroyed the balance, gods were common. But not everyone can Harvest, and many