The outlines of the Vaughan Family Fortress city emerged from amid the endless fog as Ver rose through her Whirlpool Purple, and the familiar scent of the mountain soil filled her nostrils. A smile floated up her face unbeknownst to herself as she jogged forward, her own body disappearing into the fog.
It had been too long since she had last been back home, and she couldn’t wait to talk to her mother again. When she departed from home half a dozen months ago, leaving behind her sick father and struggling mother, she promised herself to enter into the Infinite Academy and make a name for herself.
Ver wondered if that goal is accomplished through what she did during the Winter Wars, or was all of that not enough? Will her father celebrate her victories, or will he scoff at her defeats? Not that she cared anyway. She simply wanted to see the smiles of her mother.
Taking the time to actually walk through the city she grew up in, Ver glanced around as she went from one slimy cobble to the next. Things appeared to be exactly the same as before, and the same groups of people with their same sets of daily routines walked from one place to the next, not paying heed to her at all.
After Ver traversed through the streets across the city, she had finally arrived at the family mansion of hers. Slipping through the outer Shield Casts with her Whirlpool Purple, she then reemerged within the corridors where she last found her mother. The building is teeming with life and sounds from people she never knew, and Ver's knuckles found itself to the door before she knocked gently.
"Coming." Her mother's voice came through, and hurried footsteps came from the other side before its progress halted. The door swung open rapidly, and her mother cracked a teary smile before reaching forward and embracing Ver closely.
"It's been a while, mother." Ver said, feeling the skeleton of her mother and catching a glimpse of the silver hair over her head, "I have returned."
"Welcome back." She said, leaning back as her calloused fingers rubbed onto Ver's face.
After the pleasantries about her journey, Ver and her mother sat down by the window overlooking the courtyards as groups of younger Vaughan family kids sparred against one another.
"Where's Father?" Ver asked, her eyes glancing from one kid to another before a flashy Cast was created, though the control of Wave input was less than ideal, leading to the Cast exploding in the kid's face and sending him flying back. The others paused and had a good laugh before the instructors scolded them.
"He's...gone." Mother said, her expressions mysteriously peaceful. Ver blinked a few times in place, and she opened her mouth, trying to think of something to say, but nothing came out.
Her mother was a lot closer to her father than she ever was, yet he was still the one who gave birth to her, who gave her life, regardless of how things turned out. To Ver, he was nothing more than a figure hiding behind the Vaughan family banner so he could avoid the responsibilities of raising a child, but to her mother, he was something else.
"Are you okay?" Ver asked, and her mother looked towards her with a light smile on her face.
"We watched you fight, and he passed away after seeing you win the second round." Her mother said, her eyes shiny as she recalled that strange day of celebration and grief, "The old man was on the brink for so long, but when he watched you fight, he was...full of life."
"So he didn't see me lose?"
"No. But many others did. The others preparing for the Ethereal Tournament." Her mother said, sighing, "It's coming, Ver. The rising storm that will decide the fate of our realm. It's coming."
"And I will be here." Ver said, taking a stand suddenly, sensing the approach of a strong presence from outside of the door, and when it swung open, a towering man with a clean set of blue uniform, short mustouche, deep eyes and thick black eyebrows marched through the door.
"We do not need you, lost girl." He said, marching forward until he stopped just short of Ver, "The name is Stark Vaughan, and I am the new head of the Vaughan family."
It is no surprise that Ver hadn't heard of Stark before, as the Vaughan family had become too big to keep track of everybody in the family.
"I don't need you either." Ver said, not backing down as Stark tried to intimidate her by channeling his Wave from his body. A semi-transparent outline coated his uniform as lines glowed, and the air in the room started to thicken and heat up. His aura came off like a storm, and Ver simply sat in the middle of it like a piece of leaf floating on the surface of a lake, riding the storm yet utterly unaffected by it.
Stark stared down at Ver with his big eyes, and a light smirk formed on his face before he spun around and marched away, "You fought well back then, Ver Fulgen Vaughan. Let's hope that when you challenge me for the Head position, you are far stronger than that."
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"Void Domain Drown!" Lera casted, the dark presence surrounding the entire palace's battlefield and cutting off all flow of the Wave within. Joseph and Jolyne were caught off guard right away, and they tired reaching out to one another, only for their Wave sensing abilities to be completely cut out.
"Sis!" Joseph called out, but his voice was also swallowed up by Lera's Cast Array, albeit by a different Cast, an off-shoot of Lera's Sweeping Dark, Sweeping Silence.
Then from the darkness, Wu emerged from right behind Joseph, a blast of Wave at the ready before it exploded behind his back, sending Joseph's massive body flying up and slamming into the Palace's ceiling. In the meanwhile, countless vines grew out from underneath Jolyne and tied her down to the ground.
That was when Wu dashed in front of her, a second blast at the ready as his Void suit became charged up with power, and he sent it forward.
"You have gotten far better, Wu." Jolyne smiled, her eyes locking onto Wu's figure as the darkness moved aside to make way for him.
When the Void Domain is activated, both Jolyne and Joseph realized immediately that their abilities to use the Wave had been taken away from them. However, right as Wu emerged to attack Jolyne and Joseph separately, it also became clear that somehow Wu was able to use the Wave within the Void Domain through the strange suit that radiates the same energy as his One-Shotter pistol.
Knowing that the Void Domain wasn't a non-discriminate area of effect Cast, Jolyne can then take advantage of Wu's ability to use the Wave by getting close to him. Shutting down the Wave within her own body, Jolyne leaned forward, her fingers scraping onto Wu's body when the familiar sensations of Wave returned to her body.
Or rather, that sensation came on an instant before her fingers made contact. In that instant, Jolyne extended out countless thin blue Wave lines, attaching the puppet strings to piece of Wu's armour and started disrupting the Casts drawn onto the suits itself.
Sensing her attack, Wu jabbed his foot hard against the ground, a dark ring forming over his wrist before he severed the strings with his Void Domain laser. Then, he leaped further backwards into the darkness when Joseph crash-landed in the middle of the domain, cracking the ground and creating a shockwave with his raw physicality that forced Lera backward.
"Huh." Sensing the tiniest vibrations from Lera's steps, Joseph then knew exactly where she was. He moved, the gigantic body cutting through space so swiftly and quietly that it made no sense, and he tackled into Lera's body as she created layers of Bubble bubble around her body. With a single punch, he broke through the shields and prepared to knock Lera out and end this sparring session with their victory.
"Lera!" Wu shouted from their communication Cast as Lera slammed her wrist down, shutting down the Void Domain and Sweeping Darkness around the battlefield before a massive Wave blast flew through the air and slammed into Joseph's back and sent him flying off from Lera's body.
However, that also freed Jolyne as she went ahead, capturing Wu and pinning his wrist aside with a massive metallic puppet Manifest as dozens of pins were pressed up against his neck.
"Guess...this is a draw?" Jolyne asked, looking over to see Joseph's massive body firmly out of the circle for their sparring battle.
"A draw indeed." Wu said, his Void Domain pulsating from his body and causing the puppet to fade away. Freeing himself, he leapt forward and turned around.
"You two have both gotten so much stronger." Joseph said, pressing himself up and walking to Lera as she also leapt onto her feet, "That Cast of yours...it's rather impressive."
"Not free from exploits, but can be used as a basis for many more." Wu said, as Jolyne and Joseph both looked at him.
"It's his Cast." Lera explained, and Jolyne raised her eyebrow as Joseph let out an earnest laugh.
"Never failed to surprise me, Wu." Jolyne said, a flirtatious smile on her face before she walked towards him, her long fingers and shiny nails pressed against Wu's chest as a light tingle eminated from her touch, "What other surprises do you have in store?"
"Depends on what you are looking for~" Wu smiled, resting his hands on his hips before Jolyne pressed her finger forward, pushing him back.
"Anyway, it's always good to know your progress, so as your proud teachers, the steamed buns are on me!" Joseph said, "Just don't be weird like Sis and only eat Taro paste or something."
The Sonne City Bakery had just survived the morning peak hours by the time Wu's entourage arrived, and they ordered a dozen of miscellaneous buns before grabbing a seat right by the main road, watching the morning traffic come in and out from the capital city.
"The final decision had been made." Jolyne said, picking up one of the four Taro buns and playing it in between her fingers, "He will go and watch in person."
"Which means we will both accompany him." Joseph continued, "But we will have to coordinate with one another. You will be our eyes and ears on the ground of the Summer Selections, and Sis and I will be in the air."
"Right..." Wu nodded.
"Just...don't get defeated too early, or get killed even." Jolyne said, looking at Wu as Lera observed them two closely, "It would make me sad."
"Our squad is strong and reliable, so we should be fine." Wu said, looking at Lera who nodded slowly. Then, an idea suddenly popped into his head, "Say...you saw how Fatera and Ver fought during the Winter Wars, right? You think you can defeat them?"
"Fatera?" Joseph asked, and Jolyne scratched her head before snapping her finger.
"Oh! The one that won it all? She's pretty impressive." Jolyne said excitedly, "Dominance mode activated! A Channeler too."
"Maybe?" Joseph shrugged before swallowing a whole-bun in one go. Then, he leaned forward and put his giant fingers in the air, "Winning isn't only about raw power output. It's also about intelligence, tactics, and experience."
"Right...so a non-answer." Wu chuckled and reached for the brand new chocolate flavour, a rare treat on the world of Olympus Prime.
"Talking seriously, generals from the other kingdoms had been talking with one another, and we all think that PORA is planning something big." Jolyne said, now moving onto her second Taro bun, "So...yeah. Things are about to get a lot more interesting..."