Feeling his body cut through the air, Ace looked down to see the ground was now dozens of feet below him. He didn't know what Larcet had done, but he was sure of one thing. It must have been his Notch ability.

Flailing about in the air, he scanned the large room. He had to find his opponent. Allowing someone that big and strong to escape his sight wouldn't lead to anything good.

Fortunately, he found Larcet standing still, dozens of feet away. Ace didn't get why he was there until he saw his current trajectory.

'Th-That's where I'm going to land!'

He continued to fall towards Larcet who preparing to take a large swing at him. Calming himself, he prepared to pull off a ridiculous maneuver. If he didn't succeed... he'd rather not think about it.

When he fell into Larcet's range, the hammer was swung upwards to meet him. In response, Ace swung his crowbar at the hammer while focusing its balance point into the blunt end.

With all the crowbar's weight focused onto the point where it made contact, the hammer's course was altered by a few inches. For Ace, that was plenty. The weapon harmlessly flew up and past his face.

Immediately after dodging the strike, he spun in midair, focused his balance point into his knee, and used Larcet as a landing pad. When they collided, there was a deafening clank and he heard Larcet silently grunt while receiving his strike. Much to Ace's dismay, the giant had barely moved.

Now desperate, he threw his crowbar aside and grabbed tightly onto one of Larcet's collar plates. Swinging his legs widely, he whipped around and sat on his shoulders. Before the giant could retaliate, he felt around for Larcet's balance point and threw it down into his foot. As soon as he did so, Larcet's hammer and shield fell to the ground.

For a few seconds, his opponent remained motionless, obviously caught off guard by the lack of balance. Then, slowly but surely, Larcet began to raise his arms.

Unsure if he was either a genius perfectly in tune with his body or a pure monster who had the strength to move himself with just his toes, Ace could only watch in horror as his opponent reached up to remove him.

Desperate to stall for time, Ace shifted Larcet's balance point to his hand, sending him teetering to the side. Wrapping his legs tightly around his collar, Ace held on for dear life. Their struggle continued for another few seconds before he switched Larcet's balance point again.

He had to keep the behemoth off balance and immobile. As Ace stalled for time, anxiety seeped into the back of his mind.

'When is the fight going to end?! I feel like we've been at this for ages!'

Regaining focus, Ace began to sweat profusely as he felt how much energy was in left in his reserves. It was barely more than a drop, maybe two.

Then, he ran out.

Recovering instantly, Larcet performed a light hop and fell flat on his back, ramming his helmet into Ace's stomach and knocking the air out of him.

Whipping around quickly to one knee, he stomped on Ace's chest, grabbed his shield, and raised it over high. Still in a daze, Ace protected his face with his forearm as the edge of the shield was thrown down to crush it.

He waited for the impact. It never came.

Nervously, he peeked out from the side of his raised forearm. The edge of Larcet's shield was only an inch or two above it. Looking at its wielder, Ace could see his opponent shaking vigorously, as if fighting some invisible force.

From the visor, a pair of glowing yellow eyes were staring at him with an intensity he didn't know was possible. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped. When it did, the matriarch spoke.

"One minute... It would seem you were saved by the bell. Regardless, a deal is a deal. Stellis, quickly show him to a guest room and return here afterwards. Selene and Argus, you two can retire for the night. Larcet... stay here."

As soon as she finished speaking, Stellis exploded forward from her position and ran to help Ace up. Moving quickly, she helped him limp from the crater in the ground and to the giant steel double doors of the chamber. Her siblings left the room ahead of them, clearly in a hurry to leave. It didn't take a vivid imagination to see why.

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Supporting Ace, Stellis led him away from the large room and all throughout the castle-like structure. They passed through many hallways and even crossed some of the outdoor walkways that Ace had seen from the outside. When they did so, he could see the glistening lights of the city down below. He didn't know where they were but he could only assume they were on a mountain of some kind.

After a long walk, Stellis brought him to yet another white stone hallway. It was flanked on both sides by numerous sets of black doors. Handing him a circular badge similar to but not exactly like her own, she showed him how to open the door.

Ace stepped inside with amazement. Before him was a room even larger than the foyer of his orphanage. Surprisingly, the furniture inside was made of wood. There was a horizontal bar of light attached to the ceiling which could even change colors with the flick of a switch.

Standing centered against the back wall was a large and soft looking bed. On both of its sides were two nightstands. In the corner of the room was a cabinet filled with linen pants, government issue khakis, button up shirts, and even a few gambesons.

There was also an assortment of footwear in the lower section of the cabinet, ranging from sandals, to athletic trainers, to boots. More than satisfied with what he saw, Ace turned his attention to the door on the side of the room.

Much to his delight, there was an attached bathroom with a separated shower and tub. There was even a refrigerator stocked with real food and a stovetop for cooking. He had heard about such things before from Thalia, but to see them in person was an entirely different experience.

While Ace marveled at the amenities, Stellis tried to get his attention.

"Ace...Ace... Accceee!"

Lulled out of his stupor of amazement, he turned towards his friend.

"Hmm what? You were saying something?"

Sighing deeply, she took a seat at dining table and gestured for Ace to do the same. When he sat down, she began talking.

"Alright, things are going to move pretty fast from here on out. While you are pretty strong you could be even stronger if you had some proper training. After how well you did against my brother, my mother has probably taken an interest in you... and will ensure that you get the help you need.

Rest well tonight, things will be hectic in the next few days. Oh and by the way... good job out there. I honestly thought you were doomed when she said you'd be fighting Larcet. It was only a minute, but it was still incredibly impressive."

She stuck out an open hand.

"I know you are still dealing with a lot, so thank you for bearing with me. If you ever need anything, I'm here for you."

With a nod of his head, he reached out and shook her hand. Seconds later, she exited the room.

Now alone, Ace reached into his pack and dumped out the twenty feathers Volcan had given him. Gathering them into a neat pile on the table, he called out to Talos.

'Hey buddy, how do I turn these into a chisel? Same deal as usual?'

There was a chime in his head as Talos responded.

[Volcan's feathers are special... Unlike with other types of beast parts, making a chisel from his feathers will require not only your sever energy but also your blood... On the bright side, the feathers will take the shape of a new object on their own. You need only dowse every feather in your blood and then infuse them with your energy. It won't take much. What little you have recovered will suffice.]

Nodding his head, Ace took out his crowbar and cut into his hand. Moving quickly, he let every feather get a few drops. When he was finished, he moved them all into a pile and sent his energy into them.

After a few seconds, there was a brilliant flash of purple light that temporarily blinded him. When he regained his sight, he found a single garment lying flat on the table.

It was a cloak.

It bore the same color as Volcan's onyx feather's but there was an almost imperceptible gray tinge present.

He reached out to touch it. As soon as he did, a description of the chisel appeared in his periphery.

---

Chisel: Dark Adamantine Cloak (Unique)

Description : Created by a lucky fool who bonded with a Beast, this chisel possesses strange properties and defies logic. While a complete analysis is unavailable, the material is dense like metal and will protect the user in extreme environments. It is also quite fashionable...

---

Ace narrowed his eyes.

'What's the deal with this description?'

[Just a little personal touch... On a more serious note, I will need to see this chisel being used to create an accurate description. I would recommend using it all times.]

'hmm'

He slumped down onto his bed, feeling incredibly tired.

A lot had happened in the past 24 hours.

He was used to loss, hell he was born with one arm. But losing his family? That was a loss unlike any other. A loss so great that he had almost considered following them in their journey to the beyond.

Tears welled in his eyes as he remembered the faces of his siblings. Shaking, he wiped them away quickly. He had already cried for hours. Continuing to do so wouldn't bring them back, it would only increase his suffering. He had to do right by them. If he didn't, then he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Taking deep breaths to calm his raging heart, he heard Stellis's words ring in his head.

'You need revenge'

Ace pondered the last word deeply while he prepared to retire for the night.

He obsessed over the very meaning of the word itself while he showered.

He thought about who would be his target as he changed into a fresh set of clothes.

He even thought about what it would feel like to be successful in his pursuit of it.

In the end, all his dark thoughts left him feeling empty and even more drained of energy. As he stared up at the ceiling from his comfortable bed, a realization dawned on him.

"Revenge huh? No... I want something even more difficult to acquire. I want... "