“Alaster.”

Sedall’s voice distracted Alaster, causing him to mess up the Weave he was working on. The Mana whipped back, lashing out and causing Alaster’s skin to sizzle as the Necrotic Mana ate at it.

Alaster effortlessly took control of the wild Mana and sighed in frustration. He did not care about the wild Mana, the minor damage it caused would be healed within moments. He was frustrated because of the Weave he had been working on for the last two hours came undone and dissolved.

“What is so important it could not wait another hour?” Alaster grumbled.

“Calm down and pay attention, this is important. Not just to you, but to your sister.”

Alaster’s irritation immediately vanished, and he sat up straight on the couch.

“What is it?”

Sedall remained quiet, trying to figure out a way to correctly say what he wanted.

“Sedall!” Alaster called with a stern voice, “What about my sister?”

“You know, I am a Demigod. With a mere wave of my hand, I can have Kings kissing my feet.”

“Except that you can’t even do that because you are trapped in pit in the middle of nowhere. Now what is this about my sister?”

“You have been watching Evelyn?”

“Of course.”

“And have you noticed anything strange about her? Have you looked at her through the eyes of your Weave Sight?”

“No. Why would I? Is she a Weave Construct or something similar?”

“No, but look right now. Look at her through one of the many Shadow Assassins you have watching her right now and activate your Weave Sight.” Sedall instructed.

Alaster did so and immediately felt his mind split in two. He could still see through his physical eyes, in his suite in the castle. Yet he could also see the thawing winter forest through the ethereal eyes of a Shadow Assassin. He saw Evelyn in the forest with the rest of her party.

At the moment, they were battling a pack of Frost Wolves. Their fur comprised of icicles that they could shoot out like arrows. Their sharp fangs could tear through a lot of Adept Leathers and most Novice Metals, and their bite caused severe frostbite.

Their spiky fur did not have much use, but their meat was desired for how well it paired with most meads, especially for those brewed with winter fruits and berries. Their meat was best during the hot summer months were it innately cooled those that consumed it.

This pack was likely the last one that would be found this late in the season before they disappeared back into their burrows and vanished until the next winter. Alaster personally found their meat to be too stringy for his taste.

He had hunted them once or twice when he was scavenging in the wilds. They were dangerous opponents for Novices and many Adepts. Their difficulty came from their ferocity, speed, and number. Despite that, Evelyn and her party were doing great.

They weren’t overpowering the Frost Wolves. The beasts were certainly making them work for it. Every injury the children sustained was quickly healed by Evelyn or one of the other children. Alaster had not yet bothered to learn their names, though he knew their abilities and connections to Evelyn.

“Use your Weave Sight.” Sedall reminded.

Alaster did so. He remembered how when he first learned Weave Sight anytime he activated it his mind had overloaded, but his Expert Tiered mind was much more resilient, he just did not really know what do make of what he saw. He might know how to create his own Weaves, but the natural Weaves of the world was still a complete mystery to him. He didn’t understand them. His education on that front was a bit lacking.

When Alaster activated his sight, he saw the complex Mana Weaves of each living thing and even a few fractured Mana Weaves from the rocks and dirt from long past Enchantments or Monsters.

The most intricate and complex Weaves, of course, surrounded the children. He could understand some of the Weaves, see some of the purposes of a few others, but most were still confusing to him. However, while his knowledge of Mana Weaving was spotty at best, he did know a few of the foundations, and he knew that Weaves aren’t supposed to connect between people.

Strands of Mana between people were common, often the cause of a spell effecting one or the other, such as healing or buffs. But what Alaster saw was not just simple Mana, they were Mana Weaves.

Alaster saw not just one Mana Weave, but twenty-three. Each strand started from Evelyn and connected to one of the Children. Many of the strands were cast off into the distant forest, where Alaster suspected the other of Evelyn’s hunting friends were. Each one of the children had a strand, all but the Duke’s son, Luke.

The Weaves of the strands were the most complex Weaves Alaster had seen. He remembered when he first activated his Weave Sight back when he first saw Belgroth in his physical form. The Weaves that had bound him to his throne had nearly shattered his mind with a mere glance. He had been much weaker back then, but while he did not quite remember what the Weave looked like, he did remember how incomprehensibly complex it was.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Yet the Weave he saw attached to his sister put it all to shame, and she had twenty-three of them attached to her. Alaster did not even know where to begin to figure out what it meant.

“Sedall, what is this?” Alaster felt his body tense. He had no idea what was attached to his sister, and for perhaps the first time since that damned night so many years ago, Alaster was afraid.

He would face an army by himself if it meant protecting his sister. He would lay down his life for her. And he would burn the world to ash for her, but the unknown scared him, just as it scared everyone. He had no idea what the Weave meant for Evelyn, and he had no idea if it harmed her in some way, or if he could even protect her from it.

“I personally do not know how it does what it does. Alaster, I need you to listen to me without interruption. If you want to understand what is going on, remain quiet until I finish. Can you do that?”

“Just answer one question first, is it harmful to her?”

Sedall sighed, “No. Not directly at least. Now shut up and let me explain what I mean.”

Alaster nodded, but continued to observe his sister and her party through the eyes of the Shadow Assassin. At this point, they were killing the last few Frost Wolves while the rest ran away. As the last one collapsed, so too did the children. They labored breathing indicative of just how difficult the battle had been.

“Alright, I have told you occasionally how the Demigods work. We have our own duties that we take upon ourselves to help keep the world balanced. These include matters you would expect, such as keeping the Kingdoms stable, or keeping the Colossals sleeping, or even ensuring that some earthquake or volcanic activity does not sink the continent.

Each one of our duties, in some way, ensures that the Races of Humanity continues to survive while the Gods are protecting the world from Belgroth’s people.”

“You Humans started it.”

“Bel, please. This is important, shut up.”

Sedall took a moment to figure out how to word what he needed to say.

“Alaster, have you ever wondered how spectacular and powerful some Classes and Abilities are yet somehow don’t completely upheave or even destroy the power structure of the world?

Take your own Class for example. As a Necromancer, you can summon armies of Undead and can singlehandedly sack entire cities. Why don’t you? Why don’t the others with similar Classes? Why do they stick to their cities in the North, protecting them with their unfeeling Minions but not actually doing anything else with their profound power?”

“I admit, I have not given it much thought. Always something more pressing to think about.”

“They don’t exert their true power because of the Demigods. We also keep the powers of the world in check. One of the things that are most heavily regulated by us are Bloodlines and Body Constitutions.

You personally know the power of Bloodlines. You received an extraordinarily powerful one from Belgroth, especially because he willingly gave it.

For those who have powerful Bloodlines or Body Constitutions we categorize them into three stages. Stage one, where the Bloodline or Constitution is powerful enough to attract our attention but not enough to attract our action. Stage two, where the Bloodline or Constitution is powerful enough to attract our constant supervision.

Your Bloodline would fall under Stage two. I would like to say that the Demigods haven’t found it yet, but they had their constant eye on you long before you received the Bloodline because of your visit to the Gods.

Stage two is constantly watched, and we will only interfere with them if they attempt to make excessive use of their powers.

Then, there is Stage three. Where the Bloodline or Constitution is so powerful they cannot be allowed to have the mere chance to exert their powers. The Demigods take it upon themselves to eliminate all Stage three Bloodlines or Constitutions.

You do not fall under Stage three, despite the special attention from the Gods you have received. However, with her Body Constitution, and its effects, your sister does.”

A deep growl resonated from Alaster’s chest back in the Castle. A dark and foreboding aura descended upon the woods, seeding Monsters and people within with a deep sense of fear and impending horrors.

The Children looked up from their harvesting of the Frost Wolves feeling as if a wrathful dragon was stalking them. They quickly grabbed as much as they could and fled the woods as quickly as they could.

“What are you saying?” Alaster growled.

“I am saying, that when the Demigods learn of your Sister’s Constitution, and with her connection to you, they will, very quickly. When they learn of her Constitution, she will be graded as Stage three, and they will come for her.”

“When?”

Sedall sighed deeply, “I am not a part of their network because of my imprisonment. I have no idea. They might have already discovered her. They don’t have Weave Sight so it will take them longer than it did for you to figure it out, but they will.”

“What can I do to protect her?”

“Right now? Nothing. You are just an Expert. A powerful one, no doubt, but still just an Expert. You could combat a Master, but not even Master would be able to stop a Demigod. If they came for her, you would not be able to do anything.”

“Wouldn’t the Kingdom of Lissura stop them, or at least try? The Duke has taken a particular interest in her. Surely he would at least try to protect her?”

“He might, but the King of Lissura would not dare to oppose the Demigods. His family has long since done business with the Demigods. I personally conversed with his father once. A good man, but a strict one.”

“If you met his father, did you met his son, the current king?”

“Only from a distance. He was a suspicious boy. I didn’t really bother to know him.”

“So I can’t rely on him to protect Evelyn?”

“No.”

Alaster’s eye twitched, “Then what do I do?”

“Get as strong as you can as quickly as you can. If you want to do anything, then you need to be a Master at least. However, and know that I mean this to help Evelyn, you might want to free me. That way I can help.”

“In what way?”

“Of the Demigods, while I might not be the most knowledgeable or fastest, I was the strongest.”

“I don’t know a lot about the Demigods, but I doubt you could stop all of them.”

“Definitely not, but while I am not the most sociable of people, I do have some allies, or at least Demigods that already disagree with the executions.”

“Why would some of them disagree with it?”

“Because many believe that it weakens the Races of Humanity. Right now, Humanity is still subject to the whims of Monsters.”

“The Colossals?”

“Yes. There are twelve of them, and if even one of them wakes up, all of Humanity will be exterminated within a day.”

“There are actually twenty-four.” Belgroth spoke up, “And they have no actual care about Humanity or the Argalon people. They were already ancient before my people came into power on this planet.”

“A single one destroyed the rest of the world, leaving just this continent in one piece.”

“Him? You humans woke him up with your war. He was just throwing a tantrum.”

“Can we get back to the thing that actually matters? Like protecting my sister from child murdering Demigods?”

“Grow stronger and free me. That’s all you can do.”

Alaster turned away from the still fleeing children and returned to his body in the Castle. He stood up, straightening his jacket, and walked towards the door.

If he was going to protect his sister, he needed to be stronger. He would kill whoever he needed to kill.