The three brothers arrived back at the Bellator Manor and were greeted by the manor's Head Butler, Nox. Nox had prepared their dinner and when they were done, they went to Exeo's study room.

Ember was sitting on the couch while Exeo and Valens were seated opposite each other across from Ember.

Exeo spoke first, "Ember, Val here needs to tell us something."

Ember got up and sat beside Valens, who began to speak.

"This is about the day when I awoke my ability. Remember when I told you both that I saw images and symbols?"

Ember and Exeo just nodded silently, letting Val continue his story.

This time, Val decided to tell the whole truth about the shadow.

"Those images and symbols, I lied about it."

Both brothers looked at him questioningly.

"It actually started when you were unconscious when I awakened my second ability. The thing is..."

Val stopped himself before continuing. He looked at Ember and Exeo and asked, "Is this okay? I think you guys should hear this part."

They both nodded.

"Well, during the time when I awakened my second ability, I am completely unaware of my surroundings. I was inside of my consciousness and there, I saw a black sphere. Then, when it shattered, there emerged a shadow, it has a human shape."

"A shadow?" said Exeo, intrigued.

"Right. A shadow, like an outline of a person, except that its shape isn't complete. It doesn't have any eyes or mouth and it seems incomplete. That's why I called it 'shadow.' But it does have arms and legs. It can also talk...to me...only"

Val paused. He didn't want to lie anymore.

"When the shadow appeared, it asked me to give him a name."

There was a short moment of silence after this revelation.

Exeo cleared his throat and said, "So, what happened next?"

"At first, I didn't understand what the shadow wanted. So I decided to give him a name."

Exeo looked at Val, waiting for his explanation.

"And so, I named him 'Deleo' but the shadow's reaction was quite different at that time. He instead asked me if did I already know my ability but I said no."

"Wait a minute, Deleo? You named your power Deleo? What kind of name is that?" asked Ember.

Val nodded and continued, "After that, he showed me, the power of the Void, and that's when I started to be able to control it along with the Purple Fire without backlash."

"When I was stabilizing my two abilities, at that time, I didn't know that you two went unconscious after touching me."

Ember said, "I see. We don't even know what was happening to you at that time, because what we saw was that you were bleeding, I mean blood was coming out of your eyes, mouth, and ears. We tried to interrupt you but I guess it backlashed on us."

Exeo said, "You're right. But, did the shadow tell you why we went unconscious when we tried to touch you?"

"Yes. He said that with my ability, the Void will act to protect me if it felt that I am in danger or if it felt any malice in its surroundings. However, if there's none, that person who approaches me will only fall unconscious, which happened to you both at that time."

Ember asked in confusion, "Wait, we have been touching you but nothing happened, just that one time. I mean are there any conditions for the Void to activate itself making others unconscious?"

Exeo just thought 'That just sounds so wrong, Em.'

Valens was about to speak when the shadow, who was listening, answered Valens in his mind. "Tell your brothers that the only time the Void will activate on its own is if someone tries to harm you, kid."

This time, Exeo had noticed the sudden silence of Val. He said, "Did the shadow, Deleo, just speak to you?"

Valens replied, "Yes, he said that the only condition the Void will activate by itself is if someone else will try to harm me."

Exeo was still thinking, but then asked, "What other things he told you?

"About the origins of the Purple Fire."

The brothers stared at Valen in surprise. They thought they knew everything about their powers.

"Dr. Lewis had mentioned the ancients before right? That my ability was from the ancients. Well, he was half right, but the truth is, that the Purple Fire itself was created by the Primordials. The shadow said the Purple Fire was solely created to erase human existence. However, one of the Primordials was opposed to erasing human existence so they had appointed a human to bestow the power of the Purple Fire as the divine punishment. But, when they tried to bestow the power of the Purple Fire, a small portion of the Void which was originally from the Primordials, was also passed on to that human."

"Wait, so the Purple Fire was given by the gods themselves? And what do you mean by a 'small portion of the Void?' A small portion is what can erase a city, country?" Ember asked in disbelief.

"Yes, a very small part of the Void was transferred to that man and the rest of it remained inside the gods."

Ember and Exeo were staring at Valen, stunned.

Valens continued, "After it was passed down to that human, he was also being sworn with an Ancient Oath, which is different from a Mana Oath. If Mana Oath can only affect the person's mana when violated, the Ancient Oath is a bit heavier."

"So, what does the Ancient Oath entail?" Ember asked.

"In order for that human not to abuse his power, he was sworn with an Ancient Oath, and if he defies it, he will be affected physically, his soul as well, and...his existence will be erased to nothingness. This means that the people around him, will forget that he existed, or rather continue to move on as if he never existed in the first place."

"That's..." Ember said in awe.

The three went silent, Valens let his brothers take their time to absorb all this information.

Exeo said, "That means, that human who was first bestowed with the Purple Fire, that would be the very first Bellator, isn't it?"

The shadow commented inside Val's mind, "He definitely grasped it quickly."

Val just nodded in agreement.

Exeo said, "Then, I am just wondering, why we don't have the Void ability?"

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Valens said, "That's because not everyone can have the Void ability. As the shadow said, because of the Ancient Oath, the previous bearers of the Void can only choose one to carry on to the next, and if they are siblings, only one can carry the two abilities, but the other siblings can only have the purple fire. This is to prevent the abuse of power. The shadow also said that if ever the bearer of the Void will lose control, those who have the power of the Purple Fire can help him at ease."

Val paused for a minute then continued, "That means, if ever I lose control, brothers, you can help me with your Purple Fire."

"We'll make sure you won't lose control," Ember assured Valens with a smile.

Exeo smiled back. "I hope that doesn't happen though."

They shared another smile, but it was short-lived since they remembered something that was bothering them.

"You said the shadow's been talking to you. Did it say something about that symbol on your left eye? What is it?" Ember asked.

"It did. It is a seal that helps me control the two abilities from clashing, and..."

"And what?" Ember interrupted Valens.

Valens paused. "Well, there are not just one magic seal, there are at least...hmmm....five, I believe."

Both Ember and Exeo gasped in shock.

"There are five seals?" Ember asked in confusion. "How exactly are you sure that it's five of them? Did the shadow mention it?"

"No, it didn't," Valens answered.

"But how come you know there are five seals? How did you even discover that?" Ember asked again.

"Okay, here's the thing. My Void ability, as the shadow said, it messes up one's senses. I mean, if they're the target, the target will have no sense of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. And so, the magic seals were created by the previous Bellators, up until the last one, Reinhart Bellator."

"So, the magic seals were created over time to control those two abilities?" Exeo asked in bewilderment.

Valens nodded. "Yes. They were created to control the two abilities, but when they created a magic seal, one of the five senses will be affected. That's why when the next Bellator had created one, even though it will affect another one of their senses, at least it will not overlap the previous seal being created."

"I see..." Ember muttered, still lost.

"Are those seals permanent? Or will they be gone once you're able to control your dual abilities?" Exeo asked.

This time, Val was suddenly quiet. Now, the two older brothers knew what was happening, he was currently talking with the shadow inside of him.

Val asked in his mind, "You said they are layers of magic seals. I was not able to ask this too, are they permanent, or will they be removed once I am able to control it?"

The shadow responded, "Only one is permanent. But yes, after some time, you will be able to remove the others."

"Huh? There is? Which one?" Val asked in shock.

Again, silence came.

"Uh, hey, Deleo." Val asked the shadow in his mind. "Which of those senses will be permanent?"

A momentary pause followed before the answer came, "Your sense of hearing."

"My sense of hearing?" Val exclaimed aloud. "Why my hearing? Why is it the only one that is permanent? Is there any reason behind that?"

Another long pause followed. Then finally, the shadow answered, "Because it is the most important."

Valens was shocked. He never thought about that. His hearing is more important than his eyesight!

No matter how many times Val asked the shadow why the seal for hearing would be permanent, he could not get an answer from the shadow.

Val sighed, looked at his two older brothers, and said, "To answer your question Big Brother Exeo, there is one seal that is permanent, but the rest will be removed."

Valens then continued explaining what the shadow told him. When he finished, both brothers' jaws dropped.

"You're kidding me!" Ember blurted out.

"I'm serious. This is news to me too." Valens replied.

Ember looked at Exeo, who looked back at him. The three siblings exchanged looks.

Val was about to say something when he suddenly felt pain in his left eye. The pain intensified, and his left eye started glowing red. He tried closing it, but it wouldn't budge. He opened his right eye instead, but the same thing happened there. Soon, his vision turned completely dark, and the pain got worse. He began screaming and thrashing around on the ground.

A black smoke was slowly surrounding Val, which made the other two stand up quickly.

"What do we do?" Exeo shouted.

Before either brother could reply, Valens screamed, "AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Then, the black smoke that was surrounding Val, had completely disappeared. The screaming was gone and he was no longer thrashing around on the ground. He was completely still.

Val stood up straight and stared at the two older brothers, with his left eye glowing red, while his other eye, is completely black.

Exeo and Ember were also staring back at Val, but this time, they were on guard. Now they know that there's something inside of Val, they don't know if he is still their younger brother.

Ember and Exeo emitted the Purple Fire on both their hands.

Both of them took defensive positions, ready to strike down Val if anything happens.

The three of them stayed silent for a few seconds before Val spoke first.

"Nice to meet you, predecessors of the previous Bellator," Val said coolly but his voice, was as if someone else was also talking at the same time.

It was the shadow, Deleo.

"I am sorry if I scared the both of you, but as you can see, I just temporarily took over your youngest's body. It seems you are very curious about his ability."

Val, who is currently being controlled by the shadow, raised both his hands in surrender, saying he doesn't mean any harm to any of the brothers, or the owner's body.

And so, Exeo and Ember dispelled their Purple Fire.

"I am really sorry for frightening the two of you. You may call me Deleo. I have been here since the beginning of the world, and now, guarding Val's body."

Deleo bowed politely.

"So, what questions you wanted to ask me? It's kind of hard you know if there's a middleman, so here I am." Deleo said jokingly.

"First question: Are all those seals permanent?" Exeo asked.

Deleo paused for a moment, thinking carefully before replying, "Only one is permanent, but the rest will be removed after some time."

"How does it work?" Exeo added.

"You mean, how Val will be able to remove the seals?" Deleo asked.

"Yeah," Exeo nodded.

"Well, it is quite simple actually," Deleo answered. "Val will be able to remove the seals once he is able to control both of his abilities. But, right now, the mana on both the Purple Fire and the Void would still clash when his emotions take over."

"Wait," Ember interrupted. "How will Val be able to control his abilities?"

"Control his abilities? Well, it should be obvious by now. Once Val learns how to master both of his abilities, he'll be able to use both at the same time, effectively controlling both. And then, he'll be able to control himself, and therefore, his powers. That's pretty much it. Simple isn't it?" Deleo laughed.

"Simple... yes." Ember nodded.

"But..." Exeo frowned. "He won't be able to control his powers until he masters them."

"True," Deleo nodded. "But, the fact that the seals are temporary makes things easier. After Val has learned to control his power, he should be able to remove them easily."

"Thanks for clearing that out," Exeo thanked Deleo.

"Don't mention it," Deleo waved away the compliment. "Anything else?"

"Yes. Can you tell us how long Val needs to learn?"

Deleo pondered for a moment. Then, he replied, "That depends on him, but from my observation, it should not take more than two more years."

"Two more years?" Exeo exclaimed.

"Why? Is two years too short or something?" Deleo asked.

"No, nothing like that." Exeo shook his head. "We're just surprised because Val only started learning last year. So, we thought he needed more time than two years to learn."

"Oh, well, it might seem shorter to others," Deleo shrugged. "But, the timeline is just right. When he was little, he already had awakened it not fully, but at least a portion of it."

When did Val become aware of it?" Exeo asked.

"Around when he was five, maybe six years old, he began to show signs of the ability." Deleo paused for a moment.

"But he said, he doesn't know about it when I brought him back home," Exeo added.

"Hmmm..." Deleo hummed. "Maybe he wasn't aware of it yet. Maybe, he didn't even understand what happened."

"What do you mean?" Ember asked.

"Like this, you see." Deleo demonstrated with his hand, showing that he cannot move the fingers on his palm.

"I don't want to say he lost it completely, but maybe, he wasn't sure of what exactly is going on. He might have thought it is just a bad dream and eventually forgot about it. Or maybe he couldn't remember anything because of his lack of consciousness, due to the lack of Mana."

Exeo looked at the shadow, who was nodding silently.

"Anyway, I think he should be able to control it in no time, provided he practices properly," Deleo said coolly.

Ember asked, "One last thing before you return my brother's body back. Why did his left eye bleed when he fully awakened his abilities or...when I think he will be out of control?"

Deleo stopped humming, looking at Ember with his cold eyes, as if trying to read his thoughts.

"Remember what Val told you earlier about the seals serving as limiters to prevent the clash between the Purple Fire and Void right?" Deleo asked.

Ember nodded.

"It seems like Val can't control both sides of his powers equally yet, thus, they fight each other whenever he tries to use either one of them."

Ember gasped.

Deleo continued, "If you ask me, I'd say he's lucky to survive his first try. But, you guys need to keep in mind that he could die anytime if any external triggers, anything that will make him lose his control."

Ember gulped, and he felt his heart beating faster. He was afraid that her brother might end up dead again. Even Exeo was quiet but was listening intently.

"So, the reason why he would bleed with his left eye is because he would use all his strength to suppress the conflict between his powers. Although, I am not sure he is aware of it yet."

Exeo and Ember were silent, trying to absorb the details the shadow had told them about Val.

Deleo said one last thing before he returned Val's body, "You can help him prevent from losing control with the Purple Fire, or... by that white ice kid he's been with during your training? Yeah, him."

Then he disappeared, leaving Ember and Exeo with confused faces.

Ember asked Exeo in confusion, "White ice kid? Wait, he doesn't mean Bo, is it?"