by Daman
“Yes, it was my brother, Raizel’s, companion.”
Chapter 49 – A Promise Of Eternity
“You are ancestor Raizel’s brother?”
Calron asked in astonishment.
It was no wonder that Calron had initially mistaken the golden-eyed man for Raizel when he first saw him.
They were brothers.
“Yes, Raizel was my younger brother.”
The man smiled at Calron and continued.
“You should not stay here for long, as you are currently draining the energy from the celestial beast, and it is already in a weakened state.”
The golden-eyed man conveyed while glancing at the electric-blue snake coiled around Calron.
“You said that about the Azure Lightning before as well… is this not its true form?”
Calron asked while rubbing the head of the tiny snake.
If the Azure Lightning is so overwhelmingly powerful in its weakened state, then what stage would it reach once it regains its former strength?
It was surprising for Calron to see that the powerful lightning in his body was actually the tiny and adorable blue snake.
“After the celestial beast chooses a new master, it reverts back to its baby stage and begins to grow once again. That is also the reason why you cannot control its powers yet. Once it approaches maturity, it will be able to rein its own power without destroying your body and guide you in commanding the might of the Divine Element.”
The man answered in a quiet voice, his eyes staring into another space like he was reminiscing about the past.
“That’s why I have such a hard time controlling the Azure Lightning.”
Calron murmured to himself as he looked down at the little snake.
He looks like ancestor Raizel… but there is something off about him. He doesn’t give off the distinct aura of a person who shares our bloodline.
Calron brooded within his mind. Unlike the presence that was given off by other members of the clan like the Patriarch, Asra or uncle Kail, the golden-eyed man in front him did not exude the same familiar feeling.
“If it’s not too rude, can I ask you something?”
Calron started, nervous that he would offend the golden-eyed man.
“You want to ask whether I am truly related to Raizel.”
The man chuckled in amusement as he turned to look at Calron.
“Your Patriarch asked me the same question when he first met me as well. I am indeed Raizel’s brother and we both had the same mother and father. However, unlike him and my parents, my true form is not that of a lightning bird.”
The golden-eyed man explained in a gentle voice.
“Tell me, child, have you ever thought of why your true form has scales instead of feathers like any other bird species?”
The man inquired, his golden eyes shining with mirth.
“I haven’t really thought about that before.”
In the past, it never occurred to Calron that having metallic scales as a bird was unusual and instead, he simply got accustomed to it.
“ssssa… ”
The tiny snake coiled around Calron let out a low whimper as it opened its eyes and looked at the golden-eyed man.
“You should leave soon since it looks like the celestial beast is almost at its limit. However, before you go, please let me see the bow that you have in your possession.”
The man asked in a hurry, realizing that they did not have much time. Unlike the Patriarch who was close to the peak of the Heavenly stage, the boy in front of him was only at the Vajra stage.
Confused as to why the man would want to see his bow, Calron slowly took out the bow from his spatial bracelet and handed it to the man.
“It seems that the winds of destiny are truly revolving around you.”
The golden-eyed man stated in a warm tone, as he took the bow and fondly stroked its body.
“Safei Arata… ”
The man whispered in a foreign language, and all of a sudden the dark metallic bow cracked and split into two equal sized parts.
Before Calron could cry out in anger, the two small parts of the bow floated towards him and attached themselves to his wrists. In the next moment, both of them began to bend and twist until they transformed into two mini-crossbows.
“What is this?”
Calron whispered, baffled at the sight of the two new weapons fixed on each of his wrists.
“That is the true form of the weapon that you hold. Its previous owner was someone who even your ancestor, Raizel, was afraid of offending. I wish that we could chat more, but it is time for you to leave. Here is a little parting gift to commemorate our first meeting.”
The golden-eyed man looked at Calron with a forlorn expression and placed his hand on the boy’s head.
A pleasant sensation coursed through Calron’s body, as a mellow energy seeped into his elemental core and began filling it up.
*crackle*
Bolts of thick golden lightning wrapped themselves around Calron, and he knew then that he had finally broken into the ninth rank of the Vajra stage. The refreshing feeling and the increase of the available essence inside his core all signified his breakthrough.
“Thank you, but why di- “
Calron was elated by his breakthrough, but he did not understand why the golden-eyed man was so kind to him.
“Go.”
However, the golden-eyed man simply smiled at Calron and pushed him out of the white room.
*thud*
Calron’s knees hit the hard ground, and after glancing around, he knew that he was back at the Raizel mansion.
“Thank you again.”
Calron bowed his head in front of the gigantic bird statue, and slowly got up on his feet.
………………………
“Brother, I do not know how long this piece of my soul will last in the mortal world, but I think that I won’t have to stay here for long anymore.”
The golden-eyed man spoke quietly to himself with a smile etched on his face, as he stared at the place where Calron previously stood.
“He reminds me of you, Raizel. His actions, the way he carries himself and he even shares a perfect resemblance to you when you were his age. I just hope that he does not follow you in the matters of love.”
The man shook his head while chuckling.
“You know, brother, sometimes I regret making that promise to you… ”
A drop of tear soundlessly splashed on the pristine white floor, and in the same instant, the golden-eyed man disappeared from the room.
Chapter 50 – The Night Before
It still feels like a dream.
Calron placed his hand on the statue and gazed at it while recalling everything that had occurred in the white room.
Instead of finding answers, he had now more questions.
Meanwhile, the bird statue remained still and even the liveliness that Calron felt before from the giant structure had completely diminished. It seemed like it would be awhile before he would get to meet the golden-eyed man again.
I didn’t even ask him for his name.
Calron smiled as he slowly removed his hand from the statue.
Glancing down his body, Calron began to get excited about discovering the changes that resulted from his recent breakthrough to the ninth rank and the new form of the dark metallic bow.
*kat-kat-kat*
Calron summoned the two pieces of metal from his spatial bracelet and the noise of metal sliding against each other echoed in the air as they rapidly transformed into two black mini-crossbows.
Sending a bit of his essence into the weapons, a golden bolt coalesced on each crossbow as Calron took aim at a nearby tree.
The old man might get pissed again.
Calron remembered that earlier today, he had already destroyed a part of the Patriarch’s mansion, so it was probably not a good idea to butcher his trees as well. He did not know the full extent of the power behind the crossbows, hence it was better t
o aim somewhere else.
Altering his aim towards the sky, Calron let the bolts loose.
*snap*
Under a deathly silence, the bolts shot up into the dark night sky and instantly vanished into the darkness. Calron could not even tell how fast or where the bolts flew towards, as it all happened in the span of a fraction of a second.
What surprised Calron was how silent and fast the crossbows were at the same time, and if an assassin had used them on him, then even Calron was not sure whether he would be able to detect it in time.
Its previous owner was someone who was feared in the Divine Realm itself…
He recalled the words of the golden-eyed man, and he also remembered the shocked look on Ezkael’s face when his Teacher first saw the dark bow in his possession.
Calron wanted to experiment more with the dual mini-crossbows, but without a target to practice on, he would not be able to properly gauge their true capabilities. Letting out a tired sigh, he decided to return back to his hut and prepare a few God Tiles for tomorrow morning before sleeping.
“Goodbye, Senior.”
Calron gave a final bow to the massive statue and turned around to leave.
Retracing his steps, Calron eventually detected the path to his hut and treaded towards it. Various thoughts filled his mind, ranging from the Azure Pavilion’s future, how Roran and Ellie were faring, and what his plans were in regards to the Raizel clan. However, the one thought that kept surfacing was the issue that Balis wanted to talk about.
Calron felt guilty about being so consumed in his own affairs, that he did not even give time to Elder Balis for what he wanted to discuss. For some reason, he felt like he had a made a big mistake there.
The first thing that I should do after I leave the First Tower is to meet Elder Balis and listen to what he wanted to talk about.
Calron resolved in his mind.
“Hahaha, I win! One more ale for me, Linda!”
“What!? You clearly cheated at the end! Harol, you saw him use his essence as well, right?”
All of a sudden, Calron heard multiple voices to the right of the bushes when he was nearing his own hut. Curious as to who they were, he quietly walked to the edge of the bushes and parted them slightly so he could peek through.
He was met with the sight of a group of teenagers drinking and playing games around a small bonfire, while a medium-sized cow was being slowly roasted on top of a spitfire. They were the same teenagers that Calron had met in the morning.
“Who’s there?”
A girl’s voice alerted the others, as they quickly stopped what they were doing and stared in Calron’s direction.
I forgot that everyone here has the same abilities as me.
Calron chortled at the thought and stepped out of the bushes. He was not really focused on hiding his presence, so it was no wonder that he was easily detected.
“Oh, it’s you!”
The pony-tailed girl bounced towards Calron and held out her hand.
“I was shocked that there was another Raizel clan member outside of our family, so please forgive me for my rudeness this morning. I’m Linda by the way.”
The auburn-haired girl introduced herself, as the rest of the teens all gathered around Calron.
“Yo, nice fight with Asra this morning! I’m Misha, but everyone calls me Rain here.”
A skinny youth yelled with a grin on his face.
“That’s because your real name sounds like a girl’s one.”
A bulky youth retorted in laughter and scurried away once Rain summoned a thick bolt of lightning above him.
“The Elders will come here if you brazenly call out your lightning in the open. Put it away, Rain.”
A calm voice echoed behind the group, as Asra gradually walked towards the front.
“I came to your hut to invite you, but you were not there. I’ll introduce the others to you one by one, so come and grab a drink!”
Asra patted the smiling Calron on the back and handed him a jug full of ale.
Following Asra’s lead, everyone settled around the bonfire in a leisurely attitude.
“We usually gather together every week or so in order to relax from the training routine and just discuss various stuff. As long as we don’t cause a ruckus, the Elders don’t mind much.”
Asra spoke while tearing off a piece of meat from the roasted cow and giving half of it to Calron.
“Everyone is curious about you, so start off by introducing yourself.”
Asra put the other half of the meat in his mouth and slowly chewed it, while the other teens’ eyes glowed in anticipation of Calron’s tale. He was the first member of the clan to come from the outside, and they were all curious about his origins, especially after seeing his astonishing strength when he faced off Asra.
Taking a long gulp of his ale, Calron wiped his mouth against his shoulder and put the jug down on the ground.
“My name is Calron… ”
The warm light from the fire covered the teenagers’ faces, as they all silently listened to the starting story of Calron and his journey.
Unknown to the youngsters, even the Elders of the clan were listening to this tale from the shadows.
………………………………..
Inside a colorful and ornate bedroom, a young girl who appeared to be around sixteen years old, stood near her window as she gazed at the starry night above. Her simple and plain white dress was a stark contrast to the rest of her lavishly decorated room.
*thak thak*
A knock sounded on the door, but the young girl’s eyes remained fixed on the scenery above.
“Did my little girl miss her daddy?”
A cheerful voice came from behind her, as a blonde-haired man rushed up to the young girl and began to tickle her sides.
The concentration on the girl’s face was broken by the outburst of giggles and yells, as she tried to struggle out of her father’s grasp.
“I’m not a little baby anymore, father!”
The red-faced girl pouted while folding her hands, as she glared at her father.
“Haha, you’ll always be my baby!”
The man fondly patted the head of the young girl.
“Father, do we need to have a big celebration tomorrow? I want to celebrate my sixteenth birthday with just our family… ”
The girl jumped on her bed face-down and muttered through the bed sheet.
“I wish we could do that, but custom dictates that we have to do a public celebration.”
The blonde man sat down on the bed and answered in a gentle voice.
“Why do we have to follow this custom?”
The girl complained without lifting her head.
“Because you are the princess of the kingdom, and it is my duty as the king to make sure that our traditions are not broken.”
The man chuckled, as he got up and walked towards the window where his daughter was just standing.
I have a bad feeling…
The king hid this foreboding thought from his daughter and closed his eyes.
Chapter 51 – It All Begins Now
Early morning at the Raizel Mansion.
A streak of bright sunlight seeped through the window of a small hut, rousing wake the still sleeping figure of a young man.
“Ugh… my neck… ”
Calron groaned, stretching his neck and slowly sitting up on his bed. His mouth felt dry and slightly sore from last night. The soreness was due to Rain forcing alcohol down his throat while Calron pitifully resisted.
For Calron, it was one of the most memorable nights of his life as it was the first time that he felt like a teenager. After his parents died, he never had time to enjoy his life as a kid and it was one battle after another or running away from enemies. It drained his happiness, and he only felt alive when he was with Avi or Roran.
I could get used to this.
He smiled while standing up and taking a quick stretch.
Glancing at the fi
nished tiles on the table next to him, Calron guessed that Roran had not arrived yet to pick the God Tiles up.
“I promised that I would spar with Asra tonight, so I have enough time to visit the shop and see how everyone is doing.”
Calron took a sip of water and washed his face with the remainder.
“Big brother!”
A voice exclaimed from the outside, causing Calron to turn around and see the big body of Roran cheerfully walk into the hut.
“Yo!”
Calron hugged his brother and then dried off his face with a nearby towel.
“I was just about to grab something to eat, want to tag along?”
He asked Roran after handing him the tiles from the table.
“Oh… I completely forgot about that this morning! I was planning on freeloading food from the Raizel clan, but then I smelled the breakfast being prepared at the inn, so I couldn’t contain myself and stuffed all the food in my mouth… ”
Roran wistfully complained, regretting his impulses. He really wanted to try all the delicious food prepared by the famous Raizel clan, but he had no space left in his stomach.