by Arantes
She hesitated but said, “Yes.”
Albedo and Sonia left and went back to Inferno. He had not told his parents what had happened, but had the feeling they already knew. When he got there his mother was thrilled to see him.
“It’s good to see you back home where you belong,” said Cecelia.
She hugged and kissed him, he was feeling embarrassed as she did so right in front of Sonia. But Sonia thought it was sweet, a mother showing affection for her child.
“If I knew you were coming today, I would have made your favorite dish!” He was always on her mind.
“Its fine mother, I’m not really hungry.”
That was a first, thought Sonia and his mom.
“I’m going to my room,” said Albedo.
“Where’s Dragan?” asked Sonia.
“He’s back at headquarter.”
Albedo was going to have to get used to hearing his dad called Dragan. He and Sonia left to his room, where he laid down on his bed. Sonia sat by the window with the wind blowing through her hair. Today was windy and he could watch her all day.
“It’s beautiful how the sky is very calm, I wish I could fly sometimes.”
He thought about what Sonia said, and wondered if he had flown in his past life. Did he have the ability to fly, breathe under water? What were the other Kings of Awakening like? Were they as evil as they say, ruthless as the legend told? Yes, thought Albedo. He had witnessed what he and Aleister were capable of. With power comes battle, with battle comes blood, and with blood comes death. He had long wondered how many horrors he had caused, how many fathers he had taken. To Aleister it was all just part of life, killing meant nothing to him. He had accepted death as if it was Mother Nature itself; others lives were futile to him.
“Hey Sonia, do you think I was just like Aleister?”
Sonia looked into his eyes, she approached him and laid at his side, she put her hand on his chest.
“Don’t talk like that Albedo, think about something else. Look into the future not the past.” Her hair lay next to him; her natural smell was more enjoyable than the cherry blossoms. This was all Sonia could do to keep his mind away from Aleister. He wrapped his arms around her, and both fell asleep.
***
Angelione had been ordered by King Victor to go and investigate the chaos in Conalian. He was given fifteen of the Black Knights to accompany him back to foreign land. This time his mission was to monitor and report, never to intervene at any cost. He was told by Viper to hide in the shadows and make it as though Victor’s men were not there. He left to see Dante and Axil. He wasn’t too familiar with the Black Knights, how they operate or who they were. They hid their faces behind a mask as always, so having someone he knew would be best for him. He wanted to take Sonia, but she was too busy dealing with Albedo.
He knocked on the door and Natalia opened it and let him in.
“Master Angelione, it’s been too long!” said Natalia with a thrilled voice.
“Natalia, indeed it has, it’s good to see you again,” he responded, not wanted to be rude to her. Angelione didn’t really know what to make of her, she was a human, but Axil was in love with her. Usually he doesn’t care which vampires and Purebloods fall in love with each other, but a human it was more complex. How would it work if they want to have kids? Humans can’t give birth to vampires or Purebloods, that’s impossible. But that wasn’t his problem; it was for Axil and her to figure out. She offered him food but he declined; he had business on his mind. When he made it inside Dante was eating fresh baked bread. He asked about Axil but was told he was on the upper floor sleeping. He told Natalia not to wake him up; he came here to see Dante.
Angelione asked Dante to speak with him in private.
“You know if you keep eating her delicious food like that, you going to get big,” said Angelione in a dull joking tone.
Dante was a bit surprised; he had never heard the man trying to make a joke before. Dante wasn’t worrying about getting fat, only vampires and Purebloods who drank too much blood gets fat.
“King Victor asked me to go investigate Conalian. I want you to come with me,” said Angelione.
“What about Axil, do you want me to go wake him up?” Dante knew Axil still had family in Conalian, the ones who took him in.
“No,” replied Angelione, “its best if he stays here, he can look after Albedo with Sonia. If you’re worried about his family, don’t be, they’re fine. I sent a couple of the Black Knights ahead, to keep an eye on them, making sure their safe.”
Dante was relieved; it wasn’t until a few seconds he realized that master Angelione said the Black Knights. “Did you say the Black Knights? I thought only master Viper had authorities over that organization.”
“Yes, that is true. Master Viper felt that it would best if we let them come with us, of course they will be following our orders.”
“Our orders?” asked Dante curiously.
“Well of course. You might be a Black Reaper’s apprentice, but technically you still have authorities over them.”
Dante had never given orders before, the thought excited him. Sure he gave orders to his maids, and occasionally he might tell the royal guards to fetch some errands for him, this felt different.
Angelione was hoping not to run into Aleister anytime soon. If the chaos continues throughout the land, the country will become unstable, and soon one of the High Kings will step in and take over.
***
Natalia wanted to see how Albedo was doing. She was worried about him; so Axil took her to see him just an hour after Dante had left. She told him Dante went on a small mission with Angelione to protect the border for a routine check, this was Angelione’s instruction to tell Axil. She knocked on the door and Albedo’s father answered and welcomed them in.
“Natalia, it’s nice to see you again!” said Cecelia who sat in the kitchen. She had a bright smile on her face.
“He’s upstairs with his friend Sonia.”
Axil wanted to laugh as Albedo’s mother called Sonia Albedo’s “friend.”
Natalia knocked on his room door and Sonia let her in. Sonia looks sad. Thought Natalia, she looked apprehensively and gloomy. The two exchanged small talk. Natalia saw Albedo on the bed. He looked like he had just woken up. She didn’t really see anything different about him; she didn’t really understand this killer-lust. “Are you alright Albedo? I heard what happened.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m feeling much better now,” with a smile upon his face.
“Hey, where are Dante and Angelione? I would think they would be here.”
Natalia explained to them they been giving orders to protect the border. Which of course was a lie by Angelione to keep the truth from Axil; Conalian was his homeland and Angelione did not want him there.
Chapter 29
A new training
Sonia told Albedo about his training with King Victor and master Jarvis. When he got there with Sonia, she was asked to leave by the king. Albedo was sad that she had to go, but was happy that he was going to learn how to control his killer-lust, which will enable him to control the Reawakening and to fight against Aleister. King Victor and Jarvis were waiting for him in a special room of the castle; they had prepared a special training session for him. This training was used to teach Purebloods like King Victor how to control the Excitaret Quad’s killer-lust. The power of the Excitaret Quad came with its price. To overpower the desire to kill, King Victor had to pass this test to become king.
“Master Jarvis, I’m happy to be training with you again, you too King Victor!”
“The same goes for us,” said King Victor.
Two men with robes and masks on their faces were there also. The two men stood there, one on the left and one on the right. Albedo noticed them looking at him.
“I told you to call me Jarvis young lad. I’m still very young you know,” said Jarvis.
“Albedo, the two men here with us are Alan and Calvin,” said the King. “Th
ey will aid us in today’s training.”
The two men took their masks off to introduce themselves. One was named Calvin, the other Alan. Calvin was the older brother; he was a bit taller and had short black hair. Alan had short black hair also, but had a small scar under his left eye.
“These men have something important to do with this training,” said Jarvis.
“The two of them are Purebloods. Alan has the ability to create a barrier; and Calvin, well you will find out soon enough,” said King Victor.
What kind of ability does he have? Albedo wondered.
King Victor approached Albedo and nodded his head to Alan. Alan cracked his fingers lining the tips together. Albedo could now perceive a barrier being structured around him and the king. It was bright red and slowly the barrier got bigger. No one could get in and no one could get out without Alan’s permission. The barrier was powerful. With the King around Albedo, he could feel the power of the Elder floating in him. It was weird he thought, one minute he could control the Elder without any problem, the next nothing.
The King touched Albedo’s shoulder and said, “Are you ready? This won’t hurt too much, I promise,” with a joking tone. “Remember, even I had to go through this, so don’t be nervous.”
Albedo was not nervous at all; in fact he was the opposite. He’d been given a chance to control a power that caused chaos and to use it for good. So much fear, this was his way of giving back what he took from the world.
“I’m sorry; I did not tell you the whole truth, Albedo. I wanted to protect you from yourself. I wanted you to stay away from Aleister. But I knew it was only a matter of time before the two of you call out to each other,” said King Victor.
Albedo had no animosity towards his king; he knew he kept the truth from him to protect him. “I know, my parents, Sonia, and Angelione, all of you, thank you.”
King Victor smiled; it was an answer he would expect from his favorite warrior’s son.
“What we’re going to do in your training is teach you how to control your killer-lust, if you cannot control it then mastering the Elder’s full potential will be hard.” Jarvis did not want to mention anything vital about Albedo in front of Calvin and Alan. This was a training to control his Reawakening also. “When your emotion takes over you, your transformation takes over, and when it does, your mind and body is too weak to control it. So the killer-lust takes over you and transforms you into something else.” Jarvis had warned Albedo about this power. “If you can control your killer-lust, then this power will be yours, how you use it is entirely up to you.” Jarvis was anticipating Albedo to use it for the greater good of course.
“If you’re ready, then, Calvin, you can get started,” said the King.
“Albedo, close your eyes and relax,” said Calvin. Calvin’s ability to go inside the mind and access memories was different than Aleister’s. Unlike Aleister’s ability, which literally takes him inside of the mind, Calvin’s was simpler. He could see Albedo’s memories as if they were physically in front of him, but only he was able to see them.
Albedo closed his eyes, and slowly the reality around him started to change as the memories appeared out of thin air. Was this Calvin’s ability? Is this what he was capable of? Memories started flushing back in his head. Albedo started to see the past when he was a child. How his dad Dragan had thought him how to be a man, his mother Cecelia loving him. He saw when he’d first met Sonia, first encountered Aleister. Albedo was calm. Then memories of Ethan and his mother started to influx back to his head. His emotion changed as he saw Ethan, how the others treated him. He saw his first transformation after Ethan’s mother had died. The physical feeling was coming back to him; he’d seen it as his fault. If only he was a bit stronger to stop it, if only he could actually be in the past and prevent many things from happening. The emotion was too much for him.
“That’s enough!” he screamed, “let me out of here, I don’t want to see anymore!” his mind was becoming unstable; he was losing control.
Calvin stopped at the right time, before the Reawakening could have had the chance to come out of him. Albedo wondered what that was just now, was that really Calvin’s doing? The man entered his mind so easily, effortlessly. Seeing Ethan’s mother die felt like it happened now, the memories were too real. This was probably Jarvis’ and King Victor’s plan, bringing out his transformation so he could learn to control its power.
“That’s enough for now!” said Jarvis. “Breathe, Albedo, breathe.”
Albedo could still feel the emotions as it started to take effect. The King watched Albedo’s eyes glowing, he slowly started to transform. Albedo was trying his hardest to stop it from happening.
“It’s my fault she died, it’s my fault that the others slaughtered thousands of innocents! It’s my fault that I am so weak, it’s my fault entirely!” Albedo screamed.
Jarvis and King Victor were now beginning to understand his pain. Why it was easy for his Reawakening to dominate him, without any control.
“No, Albedo, it’s not, you have to fight it!” shouted King Victor.
His transformation was complete. Fireballs were flying from his hand. King Victor dodged and avoided the explosives. Albedo charged at the King and Victor blocked it. I would never expect I would be fighting you Albedo. I always thought it would be Aleister and me. He had always planned on fighting Aleister one day.
Albedo was now nothing but an empty corpse, fighting with no purpose, fighting with no soul. His fist and King Victor’s fist met half way, creating a wave of shock. Even though the King wasn’t using his Elder, the man was so strong that he was keeping up with Albedo’s speed and strength. Alan felt their shock waves as his barrier begins to tremble by it.
“How strong are those two?” Alan’s barrier was beginning to crack. Their strength was too strong and Alan’s barrier wasn’t designed or strong enough for this type of training.
Jarvis had to think of a way to stop his transformation, before King Victor decided to fight seriously. Eventually he was going to have to. If the fight continues, King Victor would have no choice but to use his strength. It was suicide fighting the Reawakening and still holding back all your strength. “Victor, hold him down!” shouted Jarvis. He looked at Alvin and told him to go back inside Albedo’s mind. “Sonia, show him memories of Sonia!” From Angelione’s report, Sonia somehow had brought Albedo back from his stage of unconsciousness.
Easier said than done, King Victor somehow managed to pin Albedo on the ground.
Alan used his ability to go back into Albedo’s mind. This time it was much harder to enter. As he was inside of his mind, he searched for memories of Sonia. Memories of Sonia flashed through Albedo’s mind, seeing memories of her had somehow enabled him to be in control while in the Reawakening stage. Slowly he started to control the transformation.
“That’s it, young lad; don’t let it control you, only you have the power to do it.”
His mind and body could no longer take this much power, he fainted.
“Alan, Calvin, that’s enough for now.” said King Victor. The King slowly released Albedo.
The barrier was now gone and Albedo’s transformation was also. Jarvis hurried to tend to him. He was happy; Albedo was making such progress in a short time. This was the kind of warrior he was; unwilling to give up, no matter how difficult a test might be. “I knew the boy had it in him, if we can keep on with this training, he will be able to control it.” Just like Aleister can.
“My lord, are you all right?” asked Calvin.
The King looked exhausted; fighting a Pureblood like Albedo was daunting. “It’s been a long time since I had used this much force,” replied the King. The man was not even a thousand years old, sitting in a throne had made him lose his edge a bit. Fighting Albedo had brought back memories of his old days, he missed it; it wasn’t as enjoyable as fighting.
***
Sonia had taken Axil to train with her; she wanted to keep her mind busy. Constantly worrying a
bout Albedo was taking a toll on her. “It’s nice to see Angelione training you well; you’re stronger than I remember.”
Keeping the chaos from Axil’s ears was impossible, throughout the castle men have been whispering all day. They were wondering if they had to go to war with King Henry, and to seize Conalian before he has the chance to. Victor had made it clear they will do no such thing. Axil wanted to go back to his country, to make sure his family was all right. Angelione had left a note that ensured him they were heavily protected, so he felt a relief. Angelione knew Axil would find out eventually so he left him that note. King Victor had made sure the news of the queen’s demise had not reached the humans. But of course news of this magnitude was too much to be controlled by the King. The last thing the humans wanted to hear was that the five Kings of Awakening have returned to this world.
“I see the two of you are getting stronger.”
They looked over to see the King approaching. Sonia and Axil bowed their heads. Axil left to let her and the king talk in private; he had to go see Natalia. “She’s going to need some help with her father; I’ll try and come back later on.” He promised her. Sonia thanked him for the keeping her mind occupied away from Albedo.
“How fast that boy has grown, he will be a fine Black Reaper one day.” said King Victor.
Sonia wanted to ask about Albedo’s progress, but tried to avoid worrying about him. “Who could imagine Aleister can do all this. Is this a small taste of their powers?”
wondered Sonia.
King Victor’s great ancestors had fought against the Kings of Awakening. It was told from stories, generation to generation, that one of his ancestors led an army to war against Aleister and his army. They had lost the fight, and suffered the consequences that all men do when they go against him. “I fear it’s only the beginning. He will come for Albedo once more; we have to stop him by teaching Albedo fast.”