Almarine walked on top of the orphanage's perimeter wall. This morning she took the time to walk around the entire boundary, not stopping to be distracted by anything.
This was her home, and seeing it in its entirety once more before her probable end was high on her list of things she wanted to experience that morning.
The cathedral styled building that sat prominently among the buildings surrounded by a forest she’d lived in for more than a millennia made her smile.
Once she’d resented the building that she couldn’t build in the styles of her homeland, but felt she no longer felt the same.
The illustrious wooden structure sat like a town hall, regal when compared to the other facilities she’d come to either need throughout time, or had abandoned once her charges lost interests in the provided project spaces.
The architecture was inspired by various cultures. The orphans who had helped build most of them not even from the realm that now held the conglomeration of design styles.
Regardless of the mismatched assortment of buildings that formed pockets of small ecosystems like towns without order or designation, Almarine still found the scene beautiful.
All of her almost ten thousand mortal charges lived in the orphanage's massive main structure in the center of the mess, but Almarine could now see many of the children she’d taken fill in homes long abandoned. Businesses long ignored, and even some trying to repair the intricate maze of roads that connected everything.
Almarine’s joy grew at the thought of the powerful secrets she’d hidden within the grounds being discovered by the determined faces she watched from a distance. A brilliant light, shining like a beacon was held in the edge of her vision, its intensity pouring free of a cave, made her believe everything she’d done had been worth her time. Even as she still fought against the feeling of imprisonment the orphanage once suffocated her with.
“Time will end all, change all, and start all, with the exception of itself,” said Almarine. She got closer and closer to the light, further away from the orphanage, and closed in on her destination.
The temptation to approach the girl who’d meditated for days at the entrance to one of the many time vaults she’d pulled into the realm from her homeland was at a all time high. Especially now that the girl had innately learned how to strengthen her core’s efficiency by submerging herself within the opposing element to her own affinity.
Almarine tore her gaze from the light and back toward the stairs that led toward the wall. A road led from the dump to the CityNation’s exterior boundaries that could be accessed nearby to the orphanage grounds' own edge.
Just breathe Almarine, the trinkets you may tread upon shortly may be priceless to you, but your pride in the past will keep you there, if you allow it.
The dump in the distance had been evacuated of its few workers to house a confrontation of realm ending proportions from what the citizens of Maelstrom believed. The only things left moving during the daylight hours, when her meeting was scheduled, were the military and public drones affixed with cameras or satellite technologies to monitor the area and provide a view on what was about to occur.
“Let’s get this over with.”
…
Troy’s alarm on her flatscreen rang, and her eyes shot open. She gasped and bolted from the interior of the area she’d dubbed as, a dark place worthy of hiding bodies.
The feeling of pressure she felt in the area diminished the moment she made it free of the dark, but she didn’t stop running.
"I am not going to miss this,” said Troy with a smile on her face. A smile she hadn’t worn in season cycles. One she still hid often even in the safety of the orphanage amongst her peers.
It didn’t take long before Troy saw others run toward the same portion of wall she did. Some of her fellow orphans were far ahead of her and many swarmed on mass behind her.
By the time she made it too the wall a large line had started to build up and down the stairs that led up to the walkway.
“Wow, I didn’t think so many people would beat me here,” said Troy to an unfamiliar face at the bottom of the steps.
“Yeah, me too, but I guess a few of us had eyes on Momma Almarine and followed from a distance,” said the young woman.
“Who in the realm is bold enough to watch Momma Almarine from any distance let alone close enough for her to be followed and not be aware of it?” The young woman laughed and twirled a strand of her own long curls between her fingertips as she thought a moment.
“Some guy named Khalif I think, I heard he’s in some sort of pocket gang, you know the type, use more windows than doors,” said the young woman, and Troy smirked, having run into him only when interacting with Almarine over the past few days.
“Oh, well that’s actually more believable,” responded Troy. She continued to converse with the young woman until they parted ways at the top of the steps. Troy wanted to find a clear view on the pathway to view the fight, and the young woman had seen a group of her friends nearby.
“Growth and grace to you,” yelled Troy as she ran away from the new face. Promises to reunite with a girl named Jasmine fresh on her mind until Troy ran into another old acquaintance.
“Seven, what are you doing here? I heard you got adopted,” said Troy. She stopped the moment she saw him in front of a crowd of betting teens and young adults.
“You think I’d miss an opportunity like this? There’s money to be made, woman, so I’m here!” Seven yelled over the group, so Troy yelled back once again on the move to find the perfect spot to watch from.
“I hear you, I need to talk to you about some money moves later, so call me if this all works out, actually call me either way I may need the help, if this goes bad too!” The young man winked and signaled he’d gotten the message with a thumbs up; still placing bets the entire time.
Troy would need a contact in the fighting community if she wanted any chance of going pro. She wanted to be able to give back to the orphanage one day, and without credits, she didn’t believe that would be possible.
The crowd thinned and Troy finally found a section of wall, free of numerous onlookers.
After she climbed over the walls outermost edge, she sat down, let her feet hang over the side, nothing but open air below her as she kicked her feet and waited.
The crowd began to gasp as one of the most beautiful women they’d all ever seen descended slowly into view from the sky above. The black haired woman’s landing itself literally set the stage.
The appearance of a slow descent only a mirage made by distance. The hero drop into the edge of the dumps lands caused a ripple to push back mountains of trash, rubble and dust.
Elizabeth Carter covered from the neck down in a regal armor that appeared to be made of a mixture of liquid shadows and light stood with a frown that made many there fear for more than just their adopted mother’s life. Fear more than the loss of their home. The woman’s normally blue and green eyes burned a deep crimson and vibrant yellow instead.
That is until she spread her arms wide and the armor split open as if sliced by a laser capable of seamlessly peeling back the layers of the unfathomable material.
Her almost 3 meter height dropped down to a more reasonable 7 feet, once she stepped free of the armor, and her eyes returned to their normal blue and green. The power within her cores no longer being channeled.
“No way she’s planning on fighting without her armor on, does she think Miss Mari to be some sorta pushover?” Troy didn’t look at who’d spoken but nodded in agreement.
“Seems crazy to me too, but who knows exactly how powerful the new Jade truly is,” said Troy loud enough for the many now gathered behind her to hear. Murmurs of agreement and disapproval followed but the intensity of the moment grew as Almarine could now be seen walking slowly down the path that led into the entrance of the dump.
Almarine’s every step was smooth and graceful. The woman’s dress billowing loosely in the breeze still somehow embodied a disciplined beauty. While the powerhouse she walked toward stood in the center of a newly created field. A casual white t-shirt matched with a tight fitting black pair of jeans and red high top sneakers still able to demand respect within its simplicity.
Both woman were powerful in their own way, but completely different. From their appearance, to their dress, with the exception of one thing, blood.
The two woman felt their blood connection the closer they came into one another’s proximity, as any god, immortal, or cultivator that shared blood from either a long distant ancestor, or even the same parent would.
“Who are you, lady? Why have we never met before if you are my elder,” asked Jade. The words were amplified through every flatscreen held by the crowd around Troy. Many had logged into both legal or hacked streams of the broadcast, and now used the programs to listen to the conversation being held in high definition.
“My son was far more protective of his offspring than I was of my own, and I tend not to stay close to any who wear my father’s mark for too long,” said Almarine, tapping the back of her neck as she spoke. Troy listened to the confused whispers around herself, until someone spoke up nearby.
“I didn’t know Elizabeth Carter had a Career Criminal brand on the back of her neck.” Some of the holograms projected by the flatscreens the group held showed zoomed in glimpses of the back of Jade’s neck.
“Don’t let her hear you call her that, I guess she’s forsaken her name for her new title in honor of her now dead master,” said a young man atop the wall next to Troy.
Troy didn’t know the woman known as the redeemed empress of crime had ever been caught and branded by Graveyard, but should have known or assumed as much after seeing how familiar she seemed with Sheathe Scion, the unrivaled leader of the entire organization.
“GG Carter’s mark is harmless, it's just easier for him to track us that way. I stopped caring about having his eyes on me long ago, I can’t stop him, but at this point he can’t stop me either,” said Jade.
“Ahh I see, you think as your father did, but where is Arkanous now, he too was consumed by the feeling of invulnerability you now feel, yet we both know—“
“What you know and what I know about my father are two separate things, and I wish I could just believe that you were my grandmother or whatever you're claiming, but I’ve heard it before, the truth will come out soon, any real daughter of Carter Omni will not disappoint me,” said Jade. Only for every person who watched the broadcast, the name, Carter Omni, was never heard. The considered to be flawless in its design. Unhackable, perfected quality, uninterruptible realm wide service, glitched at the mere use of a name.
A name whispered to the children of demons and monsters to teach beings manifested from rage and darkness what fear was. Carter Omni was a ghost who’d passed up the mantle of Father Time, Father Nature, and even Prometheus. He was no god, but the closest thing to it below the heavens themselves.
Now, his first born daughter, and his youngest living granddaughter, would battle. One to prove to creation she wasn’t merely a criminal, and the other for children who deserved more than the restrictive laws in place to keep them simple, and without potential.
“Come then, child, let us be done with this farce.”
…
Almarine touched timidly at the power within her core for the first time in what felt like eons. In reality, all the feats she accomplished that people assumed to be magic, system skill, or the work of runic understanding, was instead just the might of her mind.
The lowest realms in existence called her ability something like, telekinesis, or telepathy. None of those mortals could move mountains, or crush buildings with their minds, but even without the use of her core, Almarine was capable of things of this magnitude easily.
"Let's see if this old moon still spins.” Almarine took in her granddaughter's furrowed brow and chuckled.
“You ready, old lady?” asked Jade of Cloudlake. Her stance changed. Arms raised defensively, hands held as if to cup the air.
Both women moved at the same time, widening their legs. Neither truly needed to balance themselves. Their habits from times when stability in form had been required for them to survive would forever be engraved in their minds.
Almarine's own arms stayed flat against her sides in a completely unguarded fashion, and in a moment of absolute silence, Almarine nodded and they began.
The featherlight touch against the deep blue orb at the center of Almarine’s soul space, filled her eyes with an ocean’s depths worth of power, and time stopped for her. Everything became motionless, with the exception of Jade.
The younger woman vanished, and appeared in front of her in less than a blink. Almarine lifted two fingers and the spartan kick she sent toward her face, was smoothly slid aside. Her pointer and middle fingers enough when pressed against the flat of the red bottomed sneakers her opponent wore to dodge with the slightest of effort.
Both women were surprised for different reasons. Jade because she hadn’t been blocked successfully in centuries. While Almarine, though she would never admit it, was underwhelmed by the strength of the attack she avoided.
The second and third blows sent at her confirmed it. Either Jade wasn’t trying, or Almarine had been lost in the illusion of frailty she’d presented to others for far too long.
Jade sped up, but Almarine wasn’t forced to. Her opponent's strikes telegraphed both in how flashy they were, and how easily Almarine could read the flow of mana that thrummed through Jade’s body like sunlight in the sky during daytime.
“Is this all you have?” The question was asked in a moment between blows, and the confusion showed by Jade almost managed to make Almarine laugh.
“What do you mean?” asked Jade, her kick extended too far from her own body. The opening the equivalent to outright stumbling between opponents of their caliber, and Almarine felt off, almost as if she missed something.
“I mean, I believe your might to be more than what you are showing me,” explained Almarine. Jade rolled her eyes, and continued to fight, her speed slowly increasing with every breath that passed between her and Almarine.
“I’m not here to kill you or anything, just stop you from wrecking the CityNation, your realms leaders are a little finicky, and I saw what you did to that Winter guy, just seemed a little… harsh” Almarine froze for long enough to be struck. A powerful punch landed across her chin, and sent her through the air end over end before she crashed down on the path she’d used to enter the dump. Silence fell once more, and Almarine took her time to rise.
She dusted off her dress. Rolled her neck to stretch. Took a relaxed stance once more, and chuckled.
“Winter is a big softy, and if you think the Oligarchs are threatened by me in any way shape or form, you have never met the elders, being just below paradise in The Port of Heaven for too long makes one crazy, trust me.” Jade took in the unaffected appearance of Almarine and started to bob in place. Jade’s single beckoning hand made a group of thousands behind Almarine explode in cheers. All who witnessed what had just happened completely blown away by the orphan mother’s own prowess.
“Are you sure?” asked Almarine.
Jade's single nod enough for Almarine to take hold of her core's power, deep blue energies laced with silver light beginning to pour out from her eyes and pores in the same moment she shrugged.
“Okay…”