Vol 2: Growth & Grace

“You need me to what?” PRO looked at Jade with a confused gaze. The woman had just been asked to kidnap a scion; a task she hadn’t completed in what felt to be a few centuries or more.

“Are you sure, child, most who experience Endless without choice, often don’t survive, nor grow,” asked PRO. She watched the woman’s gaze change from its normal stoicism, to a never before seen worry.

It seems that she has finally found something she values more than herself, or Anastasia,. Makes me wonder if she will truly commit?

“I don’t have a choice,” said Jade as she tore her eyes away from the SunSpire Citadel. The dead land of Marvels was as beautiful as a masterwork of art and architecture; a sight that Jade missed and wished she could return to more often. Only she knew that with the rise of the Omen scions, her own son’s development should be her highest priority, or he would not survive the trials to come to the Omni realms.

“Well then, where would you like me to begin,” said PRO with a smile that grew as she spoke. PRO needed as many scions as she could get to finish the uncompleted Skyscrapers of Endless, as that was the only way for the locked knowledge of the heavens to be returned to Uni-Vare and be accessed by Cultivators connected to the system.

Jade thought a moment as she knew her son was well rounded when it came to his education. Her truest worry was that he had no individual trump cards he could access to overcome overwhelming odds, a factor she could no longer ignore with Arson’s acceptance into StormLight Academy, the second most prominent school in the Omni’s middle realms.

She herself had joined the number one school in all the realms, Cloud Lake City’s, Adroit Academy. She wanted him to attend the same school, but as she couldn’t return to the CityNation she was born to, that option was out of the question. She couldn’t defend Arson from such a distance no matter how powerful she was, and refused to lose her son to her enemies.

You cannot coddle the boy either, you know from personal experience how much that will hinder his successes, Jade thought to herself. This thought alone also gave her an answer to PRO’s question, and Jade felt she knew it was the best choice for Arson.

“Take him to the Runic tower of the SkyFather, I may not have been able to make it to the peak, but my son is much more disciplined than I was at his age, I believe he will make Arkanous and Amorra proud, my parent’s standards seemed unrivaled, but now I feel as if I am expecting my own son to carry the weight of existence on his shoulders, how time changes all answers…” said Jade with a heavy sigh.

It was then that PRO approached the young woman and put a hand on her shoulder, before she raised Jade’s chin to look her in the eyes.

“Smile, child. Your path may be difficult, and your choices may suppress your inner light, but as the Queen of Ikarus, you know the truth, we must rise, or the heavens will fall.”

Chapter 22: Entrance of Dragons & Phoenixes

Arson was excited. The videos Xani transmitted showed that the Festival was beyond their expected capacity by a large amount. So they decided to make an entrance in style. Arson and the others had managed to restore a destroyed flight limousine that had been scrapped for parts. Parts hard to find, anywhere but the junkyard of Maelstrom.

The project had taken nearly as long to complete as they had been in operation, but now the entire group lounged comfortably in a space the size of a single bedroom home’s Living room.

“You guys think my mom is proud of me?” Arson spoke aloud to the group and only really had expected Troy to respond, but was surprised when nearly everyone spoke up.

“I think she is a completely different person now that you are around, my guy,” said Khalif.

“Yeah, kid, you don’t remember how some of the older kids used to describe her. I can almost see it sometimes in the way she instructs us in the kitchen, but then she softens up in ways I’d never expect in front of you, kid. It’s cute,” said Rob.

“I’ve heard her called a demon, a menace, killer, thief, and even a cu-” started Jasmine. The stars in Arson’s eyes begun to spin and her words seemed to change mid sentence.

“Yeah, lots of things, but never nice, and she obviously is if she id ealing with all of us brats alongside our little crime lord, that’s a lot,” finished jasmine.

“I haven’t been here that long and even I see that you make her happier, all the footage I’ve ever seen of her she’s never smiled, but she smiles at you often,” said Lane.

“Did any of you even hear the question, I thought he asked us if she was proud of him,” said Xani with a chuckle.

“He did, and I know he isn’t hunting for compliments, nor is he stupid, so maybe just less aware emotionally sometimes,” said Troy. Arson looked at her, and noticed her upward stare.

I wonder if she is nervous or something, thought Arson to himself. The two shared a glance, and Arson begun to worry before Troy shook her head and whispered to him that everything was okay, so Arson looked back to the others and spoke.

“All I’m saying is that I truly don’t know anything about my mother, I could find out she birthed me herself tomorrow and that still wouldn’t change the fact that I don’t really know what kind of things she would be proud of.” Arson looked around and received a few shrugs, a nod and a rare smile from Troy, who still seemed distracted by something he was unaware of.

“Obviously, you little brat! Or she wouldn’t have claimed you, given you a name other than the one they give to all nameless boys in the realm, showered you in untold knowledge, trained you personally. She is proud of the boy who came to her with a small idea and made it into all of this,” said Troy with a wave of her hand around them. Arson smiled back at her and gave her a nod of his own in appreciation. Then the silent alarm was triggered and Xani was alerted. A red box popped up in Arson’s vision and informed him that their were 5 airborne targets that approached them at rapid speeds.

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“Our shield is disabled boss they’re going to land,” said Xani suddenly alarmed.

“Who!”

“How should I know that,” retorted Xani.

Five thuds sounded with metallic clangs atop the vehicle and Arson and the others all rose. They shared looks and a breath later, five individuals could be seen through the windows as they flew away and out of the radar of Xani’s drones.

“Well that was anticlimactic,” said Jasmine. Then the vehicle exploded. The entire group was sent in various directions as the explosion shredded the vehicle from hood to trunk. None were guarded from the flames and shrapnel and Arson awoke mid free fall, with his shirt on fire and a hole through his hand.

“Sparks,” cursed Arson as he winced in pain. He was built tougher than most around his age, which made him worry for their lives. Then he heard the first familiar voice and scream.

“Arson,” yelled Troy as she hurdled end over end through the sky nearby. Arson flew to her quickly and nearly shot passed her body with his lack of aerial control. She wiped tears from her eyes before she yelled at him.

“We have to find the others!”

“Grab on to my ankle,” yelled Arson and the two took off through the clouds in search of their friends.

By the time they found Jasmine the girl’s makeup was stretched across her face and she seemed only to be able to blubber and whimper, so Troy wrapped her in a free arm and they continued on with an increased descent speed.

Troy sighted Khalif in the distance and the boy seemed to be in acceptance of his situation entirely. In a nose dive, closed eyes and a huge smile. It was then that Arson found the passed out and blood soaked Rob being held aloft by Lane. She also seemed to be blood soaked and Arson couldn’t tell which of the two was more injured.

Lane’s cloud only slowed their fall, and seemed to be barely manifested in its wielder’s current state. Arson shot toward them and Troy made Lane grab onto her ankle.

Arson then made his way toward Khalif and his words surprised Arson.

“My ancestor supposedly ruled the sky itself, yet I only feel alive within the shadows, I truly wonder if I am broken!”

“We are all broken, brother, but the pieces of our puzzled lives create a masterpiece, now grab onto my other ankle, we have to find Xani!” Arson could only smile at the shocked look on Khalif’s face, before he was forced to once again double his speed. He slowed slightly when Jasmine began to cry once more, but then he saw her.

Xani was unconscious and still in a spin, and Arson realized he may not be fast enough to…

He shook his head and lifted his hood. Light filled his body and he once again double his speed.

His perception of time was pushed to its absolute slowest and he reached out an arm.

“Xani!” Arson grabbed the young woman’s limp form from the air at the exact same moment as they collided with the tree line.

Arson did his best to wrap up Xani and even more light filled Arson’s body as Troy lit up like the sun behind him.

The two roared in defiance as the trees abused and bruised them. They burst through the edge of the dense forrest and almost immediately smashed into a small body of water. The small waterfall near the festival grounds led into a beautiful lake and river.

The group of Builders and the leader of BlackHole pierced through the water like an arrow and they were all submerged. Arson was barely able to slow them down by the time they neared the shoreline.

He’d been more worried that his friends wouldn’t be able to hang on through the trip, but he rose from the water to find all of them, the only thing connecting them, the death grips they’d committed to during their descent. Now only slightly more damaged than they had been after the explosion.

Arson turned around when he felt eyes on his back, and found many people now stared at him. One presence felt above all.

A figure floated above the festival grounds with flames that pored from their hands and feet. The robe they wore was symbolic and made for both the enhancement of spell casting and martial arts. Runes lined the black and red clothing, and their hood left their face as unknown as Arson’s own.

Arson pointed at the figure and the crowd at the festival grounds erupted into cheers.

The figure pointed back and unknowingly to Arson, a rivalry of siblings was born anew.

“”I will be back for you, false king, he who dares hide the crown of the Omni as if it is a mark of shame,” yelled a fiercely angered, yet obviously feminine voice.

“Who said I was going to let you leave here alive!” Arson pulled down his cowl over his face and his bird like dragon mask twisted into place and he roared. Everything shook with his rage, yet before he could move, a hand landed on his shoulder.

Arson looked up to see a dread headed man with a crown on his head. His eyes were as unfocused as any other blind person Arson had ever seen, but somehow Arson still felt seen by the man.

The very same man that he only then noticed stood on top of the water and made ripples of pressure skim the surface of the small lake. Unlike Jade, this man didn’t hide the overwhelming energy the Aura of a Keeper came with, because he’d long been incapable of doing so due to his curse. A curse the man wondered if Arson would experience.

“I can’t let this happen quite yet, I apologize my son,” said the crowned man. Arson felt mana and energy leave his body as the man pulled off Arson’s mask and his hood all in one motion, to reveal his face.

“What are you doing to me old man, she just tried to kill all of us, I need to stop her from,” tried Arson.

“She will pay for her actions, I promise, my son, but today is a day of celebration, and you have guests to entertain,” said the man before he waved at Arson and his friends and disappeared. The figure in the sky also disappeared, and Arson scoffed. When he looked back at his friends he found all of them on a knee.

“What the sparks are you lot doing, we have work to do,” said Arson frustrated.

“I don’t know why you are still alive, bucko, but you are supposed to kneel in the presence of the king,” said Lane. Arson looked to Troy who confirmed the question that played out onto Arson’s facial features with a nod.

“Wait, the dread head was my dad, King Arsenal,” asked Arson.

“Draphen LightLord Omni, first of his name, conquerer of the 7th realm, owner of the prison planets of the 8th realm,” said Xani still dazed from the explosion and landing.

“You’re awake. I was worried that you were hurt because of how much further down you were than everyone else,” said Arson.

“Yeah, the explosion happened, and I think I tried to save myself, but couldn’t tell which direction was up momentarily, and smashed head first into the rear of the limo, which I am going to have to seriously upgrade, then I woke up in the water with you roaring like someone slapped Jade and you know the rest, but I am really sorry about the limo boss, I won’t let something like that happen again,” apologized Xani. He could see by how disappointed she looked that she really believed all of what had occurred was her fault,, but he quickly attempted to steal the blame before she settled into a self-deprecating mentality.

“None of this is solely on you. In fact, the majority of this is my lack of leadership. Xani, I should have known that anything we build will be threatened if we lose any of our core members. From here on out, I will make our security and protection a higher priority for you and Khalif to manage together. Don’t worry, we will outgrow and overcome all of these small issues,” said Arson. He looked at Rob and Lane who were still huddled together and smiled at the pair who seemed the worse for wear, yet the most excited about being alive after such a dangerous situation.

“What’s got you two so happy?” said Jasmine, still desperate to fix her makeup in the reflection of the water below herself. The girl apparently shared in his confusion at their obvious glee.

“I’m the sparking cook. I shouldn’t be alive, nor should you. These lot are Cultivators of the highest degree in my mind at least, but what about you, me, and even Lane? We only know basic things about mana and physical improvement, we should count our blessings,” said Rob with a laugh.

“He’s right, but I don’t think you guys are aware of the numbers we are getting for the live stream of the festival. That entrance was horrible to live through, but spectacular promotion!” Everyone looked at Lane and Troy began to laugh heartily.

“What?! I’m just saying… We might run into issues with space, the majority of comments are about getting to the festival grounds ASAP,” relayed Lane.

“I’m getting messages from my runners that we have had to fly in ingredients 7 times already today, boss. I think you were right about us needing to increase internal manufacturing production,” said Rob with a few glances at his flatscreen.

“We might actually sell out of our overstock, Arson. We will definitely need to increase the amount of recycling tables at the dump if we are going to continue to have these festivals and huge sales,” said Jasmine. Somehow she’d fixed her makeup and the only thing wet on her body was the bottom of her dress. She’d even begun to heal slightly, not at the same rate as the rest of the cultivators, but still noticeably faster.

“Arson already increased my budget after I showed him the screens of the festival, but I have plans to increase all production projects almost tenfold after today and what just occurred,” said Xani.

Arson smiled as the others continued to talk at the Shoreside. He had plans for his new enemy that built themselves seemingly on autopilot in the back of his brain, but focused on the festival and the needs of his guild and businesses in the immediate moment.

“Come on, guys. It’s time to get our hands dirty.”