"I'm home!" yelled Onii as he walked through the front door. He just came off the street when a few horse carriages passed by. He walked into the poor built single story building that was his home. The building was normal in terms of design. A square house with a triangle roof filled with brittle shingles. Glass windows that lock on the inside and a door that could keep out the cold air that was washing through the streets this Icefall. This house was built in the lower districts of the huge city.

When he stepped inside, he took off his heavy looking leather trench coat with many pockets and put it on the coat rack that was right next to the door. He took off his leather boots and gloves and was left with a black thin looking long sleeve shirt and pants. What greeted him as soon as he put his gloves in his coat pockets was a little girl. Her hair was black as night, same as the mans, and has eyes of a golden sun. Her hair is long and fluffy, and her eyes are sharp and inquisitive. She looked about ten years of age, while the man was about seventeen. Well, the man didn't look it very much to people that didn't know him. His face is rough and defined, as if he has been in many fights. A light scar runs from the top of his left eye to right under it, slightly going over his nose. His face is covered with well trimmed stubble. His hair is unkempt and slightly covers his eyes that are blacker than shadow. A face that will attract looks from all genders and many other species. A face that seldom shows emotion. Even when it does, it is very little.

"Hi Mari, sorry I'm late again. It won't happen anymore, now that I have to attend school.... never mind, I still have work to do." Mari jumped and wrapped herself on Onii. Her arms and legs coiling around his torso. Onii walks through the short and narrow hallway into the living room. It is a small space with a hardwood floor and a carpet of some strange animal laying on it. In the middle of one wall is a fireplace filled with burning timber and coal. In front of it is a small gate to keep the wood from falling out. Next to it is a metal poker. In the middle of the room is a big couch and a few armchairs. On the side is another hallway, but bigger than the entrance. Down it is four doors, two on one side and one on the other. And one door at the end.

On the wall opposite the fireplace is the entrance to the small kitchen. The kitchen holds a fridge and a few cupboards filled with preserved and canned foods. Onii walks into the kitchen and opens the fridge. He does a quick check on the self made ice runes and takes out a jug of water. He goes over to a cupboard and takes out what looks like a teapot and sets it on a block of stone. On this block of stone is a grate that Onii opens. He puts in a log that was in a pile nearby and lights it with a snap of his fingers. Mari is still clinging to him. He pours the water into the pot and sets it on a metal disk that's on top of the stone block. He then returns the jug of water and heads towards the big couch.

Onii plops down on the soft fabric, letting it suck him in slightly. " I wish I wasn't working my entire existence. It gets boring and exhausting. Train hard Mari, so you don't have to work yourself to the bone everyday just to survive." His voice is deep and gruff, filled with wisdom that he has likely yet to experience. His talk breathy as if he had been fighting on the battlefield of Karn for two weeks straight. Mari loosens her grip after a few minutes to peer up at him. His breathing has slowed and calmed, his back against the cushions and his arms limp. He has fallen asleep without realizing it. Mari waits for a few seconds, just staring up at him, her expression curious. She then slaps him hard a few times, yet he doesn't wake up. It is usually like this. Onii coming home and putting water on the boiler and then sitting on the couch for just a minute or two before passing out.

A few hours later, Onii has woken up. He lazily gets up and looks around. He is laying on his side with a colorful quilt covering him. In the middle of the room is Mari sitting on the rug in front of the fire. A cup of water stands next to her. "You doing your exercises like I taught you?" She gives a slight nod without looking back. The water in the cup is moving ever so smoothly. Insanely small waves swishing back and forth. The flame in the fire pit is moving randomly. But every so often there will be a lick of orange reaching for the gate. Around the small girl there is a nigh perceptible gold. This is the work of five years of training at a young age. Though Onii is much more adept and started even younger, Mari could likely be on par with one of the legendary human heroes when she grows up. Granted, she has been given advanced knowledge of the world that most people don't know.

What Mari is working on are multiple things. The nigh perceptible glow around here is her Aura. A physical manifestation of her magic, or soul or whatever people say it is nowadays. What everybody does know is that most people know how to use it instinctively. Onii theorizes that it is separate from magic and the soul. He thinks that it is a power that comes from a crystal that is found in humans. Major researchers say that it is the source of magic. It is true that it activates slightly when people use magic, but it does slightly more when using the aura. Only masters of an element can notice the change, yet they keep the information to themselves. The power hungry bastards they are.

The use of moving the water and fire at the same time is to help with feeling the psions in different states of being. It is extremely different when in a gas or liquid or a solid. Most people can already tell this, but it is difficult to free form them. When one casts a spell, their soul does what it is told automatically. It takes extreme work and understanding to use magic manually. The soul for all living beings have an affinity for all attributes. Whether they be fire or water or shadow. It's just that some are more attuned than others. Thus that makes it more difficult to use the opposite of that element. Since Mari is more attuned to fire, Onii is having her train the water element. The attunement can be adjusted, it's just that it is extremely difficult to do so and takes a lot of time. Granted when one focuses on one element they are usually stronger than one who focuses on two, since all their time has been put into that one element.

When manipulating an element, it usually takes concentration to use. Not really though. It just takes extreme practice in most cases. Onii lays there on his side, just watching Mari focus on her training. Footsteps could be heard from behind the couch. From the hallway came a beautiful Elf. A male elf though. This male elf has the typical blonde hair, short and with a short ponytail at the back, and very long ears. He is wearing a butler's outfit. Most butlers are either slaves of other races in the human nation. Some are rarely trusted aids. This world doesn't have slave magic, but it does have strong tracking spells. And once the tracker leaves the area that has been set, the one who cast the tracker spell will know instantly and will have a constant image of where they are. The high-end tracker spells will be attached to the soul. The low-end will be a brand on the face or somewhere visible.

" Welcome back sir." The elf has moved to the side of the couch, next to Onii's head. Onii gives a grunt in response. The elf doesn't mind, for he knows that his master is one of few words. " May I ask what your plans are?" The elf needs to know if he will be staying here to take care of his masters mother or not. " You will be freed, Bo'Rai, and my mother given an ultimatum." Bo'Rai just nods his head. He knows how the mother is. How Anna is. A despicable woman who cares not for her children. The reason Bo'Rai is here in this house and alive is because Onii was looking for somebody to look after her. Even though she doesn't deserve such kindness, her children still helped. " Sir, if I may ask, what is an ultimatum?"

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" An ultimatum Bo'Rai, is a final demand. My demand is that she willingly gives me her gene, or I take it by force. I say this is more tame than the other options." Bo'Rai gulps involuntarily. He has only ever met a genie once, and that is his master. His master has the ability to devour souls, and since genies have a special power built into their souls , he can steal those too. However, the gene is the most noticeable part of the soul is what his master says. He can either take it by itself, or choose to eat the entire soul and take the entirety of magical and aural power they have. It is a dangerous ability that can spell the doom of the entire world. Bo'Rai has even heard of Onii mumbling about an annoying Devil that he was glad to do away with.

" Sir, aren't creatures with a Gene exceptionally rare?" That is what he has come to learn. Over the past millennia, creatures with frightening abilities have been popping up. They aren't great in number, and they appear through all forms of life. It will be extremely difficult to form an organization of just Genies. " That is wrong. Nearly everybody has a gene. They just don't know what they are and how to use them. In most cases, it appears when in dire straights. Like when one falls off a cliff, then suddenly they start floating in the air without magic."

" Like the X-men." He mumbles this last part barely audible. " Anyway, you use to be an Elven politician right? Or at least somebody of importance?"

" Yes, I was sir. I was the next in line to inherit the throne of my people. Since I was captured about ten or so years ago, they will have put my elder sister on the throne. She should be queen by now."

" That doesn't bode well, does it? Since the men of most races fight on the battlefield, I can't assume the men would agree with that very much."

"That is where you are wrong, sir. My people will follow whoever sits on the throne. Whether they be woman or man, child or adult."

" But as long as they are an elf, correct?"

" Ah, er, yes sir. As long as they are an elf."

"Hmm. Will you be able to travel back to your country when I free you?"

"I believe so, sir. It will just take a very long time."

"Good. When you leave, I want you to tell your sister that I wish to form an alliance with them. But under no circumstances will you tell them that I am a genie. If I find out you did, I will be forced to eradicate everybody who knows, including you."

" O-o-of course, sir. I understand. I swear upon my ancestors that I will not tell a single soul of your ability."

"Good. Now, I will go give the choice to my mother. Keep an eye on Mari, will you?" Onii gets up and starts down the hall. Before he enters the door at the end of the hallway, he looks back to Mari concentrating. Onii can clearly see that she is nervous. The waves of the water are now more chaotic. It is her mother as well. Onii takes a deep breathe before he heads in. It isn't an easy thing preparing to kill one's own birth mother. When he enters, he silently closes the door behind him and puts up a sound blocking barrier. He doesn't want Mari to hear the conversation that will take place.

" Mother, it is time you choose what you want to do." His mother lies an a single person bed. Next to it are a couple of nightstands and candles that are lit upon them. Onii's mother could have been beautiful once. But having two children that one doesn't want puts some stress on the body. Her raven black hair cascades down her shoulders like a waterfall. Her back is straight up against the wall, a book in her lap that her silver eyes are engulfed in. Her body is thin and frail looking, as if she hasn't eaten in weeks. her cheeks are sunken a little and her fingers are slightly bony.

She places her plain looking bookmark inside and closes the book, looking up to Onii. " I choose neither." Her voice is strong and unwilling to bend. Onii lets out a sigh of frustration. " You will die with that option." Anna lets out a snort of arrogance. " You think you can kill me? You haven't even been trained in the use of magic. What could you possibly do?" It was then that tentacles of shadow slithered out from under the bed and bound her arms and legs and gagged her mouth. She struggled to free herself, but to no avail. With her movements hindered and a tentacle in her mouth, her mind in disarray from what is happening, she failed constantly to cast a spell. " And to think you used to be a high ranking officer. I think I know why they let you go.

" But I'm not here to talk. Nod yes or no. Do you want to live?" Anna kept her head still, not moving it an inch. Her eyes defiant as ever. Onii allowed the tentacle to leave from her mouth, letting her speak and yell as much as she may want to. " You are a monster! There is no way you could have that kind of power! You must have sold your soul to the Devil! My son is a Devil!" Onii just shakes his head in disgust and shame. How could he and his sister have come from this? He brings the shadow back to her mouth to shut her up. Tears start flowing down her face as she chokes on it.

" I sold my soul to the Devil? No, you are completely wrong. I ate the buyer." Onii walks towards the bed, his mother now thrashing about and trying to break free from the monster that she sees. " You know, I still have the scars from your lashings. I never could quite understand why you would do that to your own son when he has done absolutely nothing to deserve it. Thank the gods that I saved Mari from that kind of fate." He pulls up a chair from the wall with a tendril of solid blackness and sets it next to the bed and sits down. He leans forward on the back of the chair. " Now I do know why. You are just a crazed lunatic. You find joy in others suffering. Can't say that I don't either. Must have gotten it from you. Though I can control it so much better.

" I have a special outlet for that kind of thing. I go for the bad guys, mostly. Mainly thugs and terrorists. Oh yeah, that's right." Onii scratches his head. "This world doesn't know the term yet. It means people who just like to cause chaos. Don't worry though, I would never torture the one who gave birth to me and Mari. She wouldn't like me after that anyways. Always wanted to be a bad guy though. The good guys are just too cliche. But I guess that the heroes usually have a group of pretty girls fawning over him all the time. Nah, don't really have much of an interest in romance. It's something that usually comes and goes. Well, I am a huge hypocrite. So I'm sure that I will be doing some good deeds here and there.

" Oh, shit. Seems like I have been talking more than usual. Guess that's just how it is when saying farewell to a family member. So, do you still want to live? This is your final chance." Anna starts to slow her thrashing to a halt. Tears and snot still continue to flow down her cheeks. " I need you to nod yes or no, Anna. You are no longer our mother." She nods her head yes. Anything to keep herself alive. " Good. I didn't want to have to kill you. Now, this will take an extremely painful hour, so prepare yourself." Onii gets up and his hands start to glow a bright white. "Ah, my second life is still all work and no play. Fate is cruel. Isn't it, Anna?" And then an hour of ear bleeding screams and shouts began. For the others in the living room, they heard nothing. Good thing too, or else they would have thought a lot less of Onii.

And by the time it was over, Mari was put to bed and tucked in by Bo'Rai. Never to know that her mother has suffered through hell and back, having a part of her soul torn from her. At least she will live, is what she thought when she woke up the next morning after finding out her mother's fate.