"Uuuugh…" Righteous Lad groans as his consciousness returns to him, eventually easing his way into sitting up as he holds the side of his head.
"He's awake!" A familiar feminine voice announces, drawing the attention of the hero. Turning his head, it's there Tyson sees Alexecute lowering to kneel beside him on the grass beneath him.
"Hey, you okay, boss?" She asks while placing a hand atop of his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy. What happened?" He asks.
"I'M what happened." Hurleon reminds him, giving a cheeky grin as he leans against a nearby tree with his arms folded. Surely enough, flashes of their fight come rushing to the forefront of his thoughts.
"Oh yeah… At some point, I couldn't tell what was happening anymore." He admits, sighing while leaning back on his hands afterwards.
"Where are we, anyway?"
"A field near the Southwest mall. I couldn't really bring you back to HQ because of those guys." Alexecute answers, motioning toward the bunch behind her with a tilt of her head. It's then someone else steps forward to stand beside the heroine and tower over the sitting male. The blonde from before.
"My apologies– Righteous Lad, was it? I know our sudden and admittedly brazen visit hasn't been one of the friendliest, but I assure you that I'm here for a good reason. Will you lend me your ear and spare some time?" The male requests just before extending a hand in offer. With little delay, Righteous Lad reaches to accept the help and rises to stand on his feet. His companion, Alexecute, also stands.
"Sure. Asclepius, was it? I don't understand what's going on, so I'm all for hearing an explanation and sorting things out peacefully." Righteous Lad responds.
"Yes, that is my name. But before we resume, would you be willing to tell me your real name?" The blonde inquires, earning a skeptical look from the hero.
"My real name…? Like government name?"
"Your name at birth. Your TRUE name." The blonde specifies, causing a brief state of surprise to overtake the other' s face.
"It's… Konnence." Tyson answers reluctantly.
"Oh? I see. Were you told the meaning of it, by any chance?" Asclepius prods further.
"Yeah. Yeah, I was… My birth mother gave me
that name and told me it means He Who Shines With Warm Radiance In The Coldness of Hel." He obliges. The blonde blinks curiously and even more of his doubt fades from his thoughts.
"Wait, your real name is Konnence? And THAT'S what it means?" Alexecute questions while arching a brow and crossing her arms.
"What does that even imply? Like… you're the warmest thing from a super hot place like Hell?" The question draws a visibly uncomfortable look onto Tyson's face.
"No, no… HEL as in H.E.L. Not H. E. Double hockey sticks. She says it's the coldest place within the nine realms. Even so, that's still not too much better. HEL is not only my birth mother's name, but it's where bad people go to suffer in the afterlife. It's a place that's also called Niflheim. I don't fully know if she was referring to herself or Niflheim, though." Tyson elaborates.
"So my suspicion may very well be correct, then. Perhaps… Tell me, what is the Olympian Sun God, Apollo, to you?" Asclepius chimes in to question. Yet again, a question that draws a look of discomfort upon Righteous Lad's face.
"He's… he's…" The hero struggles to find his words. He knows the answer, but there's complications that make him hesitant to be upfront. The painful contrast of lying also nags at him.
"It's not important. I'm just a guy who grew up in America and he's from somewhere far away. There's nothing else that needs to be said about it." He finally answers.
"I know you're his offspring." Asclepius states with a solemn stare and firm tone. Righteous Lad, Tyson himself, blinks and freezes with a sense of horror creeping into his skin.
"W-what? Who told you such a thing like tha–"
"I was there observing you two on the day you came to Mount Olympus, Konnence." The blonde interrupts sharply.
"Granted, I didn't pick up much, but I had noticed my usually calm and collected father was unusually hostile when talking to you. I had no idea what could have caused such a reaction from him, but I didn't pester him about it. Even so, a part of me wanted to know the truth. That feeling had gone ignored and was buried away up until the last time the Aessir Gods visited Olympus. I noticed a peculiar but admittedly brief interaction between him and a woman wearing black and jade. Their body language gave the implication that there was a bit of history between them. Under twenty-five years and this being the only the second time Odin and his kin came to our home. Odd, no? How old are you now?"
"...I'm twenty-three." Righteous Lad answers after a brief pause.
"Exactly the number of years ago the Aessir Gods first came to Mount Olympus." Asclepius affirms.
"Ha! So he really is a bastard child." Hurleon comments crudely.
"Look, it doesn't really matter what I am. I'm here and he's there. We're from two completely different parts of the world and we've been getting along just fine. You're only going to make problems by poking around like this." Tyson argues.
"There are many things to fear in this life, but the truth SHOULDN'T be one of them. Nor can I ignore how my soul aches to have certainty in this ordeal. It MUST be uncovered. It MUST be brought to light. My mother and her offspring deserve that much." Asclepius presses further.
"And then what? Watch your family fall apart?"
"We will adapt as needed under the freedom of truth and clarity. Respect us enough to grant us that chance, Konnence."
"And I'm just supposed to live free of guilt afterwards? You're asking me to instigate and possibly dismantle a family household…" Tyson informs his half brother.
"A household that you have every right to be a part of and speak upon. We cannot allow father's misdeed to go unchecked. He violated his sacred bond with my mother. Does she not deserve to know and the chance to decide on how she comes to terms with it? Come with me and let's embrace this endeavor together, brother." Asclepius stands firm in his intent as he presents his proposal and offers a hand to Tyson again.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The latter internally debates with himself over the offer. While he does feel this man, whom he's only now learned is his older brother, makes very compelling arguments - a part of him dreads going out of his way to possibly ruin someone's life in any way.
"...Are you sure about this? There's no telling what could happen if we do this." Tyson questions to make certain that this is indeed what the other wants.
"I am sure as I possibly can be. I have no reservations about doing this." The blonde confidently assures.
"Okay. I'll go with you, then." And with those words, Tyson extends a hand of his own to shake his brother's waiting one. Afterwards, his attention shifts toward Alexecute.
"I'll be back soon. Let everyone know that everything is fine now."
"Are you sure about this, boss?" The teen questions while shooting him a wary stare.
"As sure as I can be, I guess. It'll be fine, though. We'll be back to doing the usual tomorrow." Tyson responds with a soft smile.
"Then let us be on our way and not waste any more time. The day will not stay with us for eternity." Asclepius announces and turns where he stands. He goes on to pluck out what seems to be a figurine of a platform. A stone ring with a railing that nearly forms a complete circle. He walks forward to place at least 40 feet of distance between himself and the others before setting it down upon the ground. Afterwards, he retreats back to his original place and speaks the words:
"To Mount Olympus shall you return me. So says the son of Apollo and Kyrene." At his demand, the object he left on the ground is abruptly struck with lightning from the clear blue sky. After the flash of blinding light passes, the small model is massive in comparison to its former size. The others, including Hurleon, approach to step up onto the stone platform that bears the sign of Zues on its surface.
"This'll be the fastest method back to Mount Olympus. Let's be on our way, brother." The blonde beckons before joining the others.
"Magic… He knows magic. Uhh. Guess… guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Tyson tells Alexecute in the form of a rhetorical question as he begins walking backwards toward the platform.
“Yeah, for sure. I hope. Just be careful, okay?" She bids him goodbye and waves him off, too. He waves back before turning around completely and hustles his way over to the platform. Nearly as soon as he passes through the opening, a near completely transparent silver dome takes shape around the circular structure. In the next moment, the platform begins to rise into the sky and fly off into the distance.
[ Hours Later Back at Mount Heaven Splitter ]
After spending some time learning the fundamentals of the martial art of their choice and training on tapping into their inner potential, the students from all three classes are brought together to go jogging as a massive group. A single lap around the mountain is what's expected of them all. Right now, Galivinth and Naeth are beside one another and maintaining pace easily.
"Curious. What do you think caused that commotion earlier? It Almost sounded like a military force was putting its weaponry to use." Naeth questions.
"More than likely a big fight between a platinum Samaritan and a REALLY strong bad guy. We can check the news once we're done, if you want." Galivinth answers.
"Platinum Samaritan, you say? I recall you telling me a bit about that ranking system before. Are they truly so powerful enough to cause a tremor of that magnitude?"
"Ehh… Some of them are. It's usually guys way above street level, but there's only so many of them that can hit that hard. Could've been X-Jadeo, Righteous Lad, or Townrocker. Maybe someone else, but I have no way of knowing for sure." Galivinth answers. By this time is when some of the other students begin to slow down and lag behind the group. A teacher takes notice and quickly addresses them while pausing in his advancing to jog in place.
"Hey, don't get discouraged! This isn't a race and there's no shame in acknowledging your limits. Take your time and walk the lap if you have to. All we want is one full lap, even if you're the last to finish." Joey Dawson assures with a warm grin before he continues on his way.
"Hmph. Quite a number of these humans are reaching their limits." Naeth comments, noticing the abundance of heavy breathes.
"What say we do a little potential training now and leave the rest behind?" He goes on to propose and demonstrate his intent by tapping into his core and extracting his inner potential in the form of a thin red aura taking bird-like shape around his whole body.
Galivinth's eyes perk up upon feeling his relatives soul essence illuminate with a lukewarmness.
"Oh. A-alright, yeah. Sure." Entertaining the idea, Galivinth concentrates on imitating Neath's output. However, there's more of a strain for him as he does his best to multi-task. A firm scowl takes form across his face as he reaches into his core. Soon, his own aura begins to stutter into visibility until it's stable enough to flow like water of a pond of pure white gently swaying.
"This is tough, but… Let's move."
"That's all I needed to hear." A motivating spark of excitement beams through Naeth and in the very next second, the two boys accelerate their pace. They exit the pack from the right and rush on ahead, easily leaving the rest behind. Especially when their jogging shifts into semi-serious running.
During, each of the teachers were observing the two since the moment they felt Naeth's soul essence make itself known.
"Huh. Would ya look at that? Those boys are off and flying!" Joey comments with a grin.
Meanwhile Heihachi calculates the boys' output of power. From his observation, Naeth seems to be at a 1.3x multiplier while Galivinth is at a 1.2x multiplier. He hums contemplatively to himself, surmising that those two may have what it takes to be formidable representing members of their dojo in the near future. It's been about three minutes since they've started, and another five passes before the two ahead of the group begin to slow down.
"I.. Ugh… I need a break. I need a break." Galivinth pants out as he slows into a full stop, hunching over with his hands upon his knees as his lungs suck in and cycle as much oxygen as he needs to recover. On the other hand, Naeth also comes to a stop. Though judging by his more tame breathing, he only halts his jog for Galivinth's sake.
"We've made good enough progress. Catch your breath and let's walk part of the way onward; I think we're nearing the end of the lap." Naeth advises.
"Sure, sure…" Is all Galivinth responds with in turn. It takes a moment, but he does bring the degree of his breathing down. As he rises to stand with his back straight again, he looks around to take in the surroundings and stumbles upon the grounds of a temple to his far right. A stone pathway leading toward a fountain that's also made of stone - one with a dragon wrapping around a pillar while expelling a steady flow of water from its open mouth at the center of it. Surrounding that artistic piece is a large U-shaped Chinese structure 50 feet tall and a football field with in width, where at its left end several young men in red lounge against the railing of the exterior and the building itself. Though his nearsightedness makes his vision poor from afar, he could at least notice they were looking in their general direction.
"Is that… one of the other dojos? I think that's the Red Turtle Dragon school."
"It seems very likely. Regardless, no point in getting distracted by the competition this early. Let's keep going if you've caught your breath now." Naeth insists and begins jogging onward.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Galivinth says and also returns to jogging. By the time they curve around the mountain, ascend up the second level of long stone stairs leading up their dogo, and cross the bridge - eight more minutes pass by while the two boys alternate between jogging and walking. After finishing, they wait at the steps of the temple. It's not until 10 more minutes pass before the two can hear a dozen footsteps treading along the bridge. What remains of the group finally makes it back to the starting point.
"Alright, good show today! You guys should feel proud of yourselves. After all, not only did you tough it out until the end, but you also ran a total of 3 miles!" Mr. Dawson exclaims with enthusiasm as he looks upon the panting students with a toothy smile.
"This is the first step to building a solid structure. Head inside and rest up if ya want. In the meantime, I'm gonna go jog back around and see how the stragglers are doing." With that said, the upbeat blonde gets a move on.
"I'll accompany you, Dawson." Sae Lee informs with a grin he's caught from his peer's contagious high energy, and follows after.
"Man… they have a lot of energy." Galivinth comments.
"Of course. Such is the result of hard work and consistency. Those two men are at their physical and spiritual peak. One day, I'd like to see as many of you as possible reach that same level and carry on the spirit of our dojo wherever life takes you in the distant future." Heihachi informs, stoically watching the two head off into the distance while standing with his arms folded.
With the conclusion of their jog at an end, the students all eventually return inside. However, Galivinth and Naeth just barely take a 20-minute break before they head to the room containing a multitude of workout equipment.
"Huh…" Naeth quirks a brow after lifting a dumbbell, finding it to be lacking in any sort of weight. He sets it back down and decides to escalate to a much, much larger one from the long double-shelf rack in front of him.
"Still?" He questions with disappointment in his tone. This one feels no different from the last. Finally, he heads down to the very end to pick up the heaviest one. Judging by how he casually begins tossing up a few inches within his palm, it's obvious that even 300 pounds is far too light for the likes of him.
"Is this truly the extent of human capability?"
"Right… I almost forgot how crazy strong you are." Galivinth comments with a halfhearted grin.
"While I do train to be athletic, this wouldn't even be an issue for you to lift. See for yourself." Is all the warning Naeth gives before casually tossing the weight to his cousin. The latter nearly panics, but does indeed manage to catch and hold it up with absolute ease.
"Oh… yeah. This is super light… Huh."
"Exactly. We're amongst weaklings. It's why I know we're a sure-in to outshine anyone else here." Naeth tells him, then extends his hand to take back the dumbbell, of which Galivinth hands over with little delay.
"But not to worry… It's fortunate for us that I'm a magesoul. Which means I can improvise where needed." The cryonean reminds Galivinth as he taps the weight with the point and middle fingers of his opposite hand.
"Double doesn't make a shred of difference.." He remarks, then goes on to tap it three more times. When he does, it's finally enough to make him grip it firmly and ease his arm down to his side.
"Much better. Increasing it by four-times was the perfect adjustment." Naeth comments and then moves to give a similar adjustment to the 200 lbs dumbbells both, increasing their weight by multiplying it four. Upon doing so, he hands them over to Galivinth one after the other.
"I strongly doubt you'll be able to lift this twelve-hundred weight yet, but eight-hundred should be precise for you if my calculations are correct."
"Yeah, these definitely feel like they have significant weight to them… It's amazing you can do something like this." Galivinth remarks.
"It's nothing really. Now, do individual sets of ten with each arm. After that, we're doing squats and situps. Make sure you're making use of your soul essence, too."
"Ah… Okay, sure. I got this!"