Loud feet pounded on stone as two figures ran in the dawning light. Sweat dripped off of their faces, and one of them spurted blue flames out of his nostrils as he ran. The other’s sweat was carried away in little bursts of flame, evaporating away.
“Do you think… we lost them?” Yustina panted as she ran.
“I think so,” Steve took deep breaths, “Maybe hours ago. But they were… pretty… angry. Chasing us… all the way… across the border.”
“That’s because… you set their grove… on fire!” Yustina exclaimed.
Steve looked over his shoulder to where he might or might not see darkness cultivators following after them. This time he didn’t see any, but he wasn’t sure if that was correct or not. As for which group pursuers might be from, it was most likely the Society of Midnight this time. The other groups had lost track of them a while before. “I may have… lit the flames… but you spread it.”
Yustina laughed, and then started coughing until she got her breath back under control. “Yeah. They deserved that.”
Steve kept on his guard. The Society of Midnight had secretly crossed the border into the Stone Conglomerate before, and they might do it again. The two of them weren’t exactly citizens of the country either, so they might not be protected if it came down to it. Yustina could yell about the Milanovic clan, but it probably wouldn’t help them if people were determined to take them out. It might make it worse, actually, because they’d want to remove the evidence.
Because he wasn’t actually associated with the Tenebach clan, and he didn’t want to cause them trouble, Steve would also forgo any mention of them. Though he did have some juicy information for them. He couldn’t wait to get it to John.
After he collapsed into a nice, soft bed. Or one that passed for such in this place. He didn’t really feel that sand-stuffed mattresses were for him, even if they did hold a shape nicely once you settled into them. Not that the Stone Conglomerate only had such things.
Eventually they stopped running, dropping to a quick walk. They’d been going for a long time. At various points they’d slowed after they thought their pursuers had gotten behind, but they’d been spotted as recently as the day before. Fortunately the people chasing them were as tired as they were, with several days of moving quickly without sleep.
Steve thought they might swing by the Order of the Amber Heart first. The Crystal Caverns were supposed to be open again, though maybe they’d missed the date. He thought he’d like to see inside them at least once, though.
Yustina stretched her back, smiling. “It’s good to do things like that from time to time. A little splash in the face really gets people to think about what they’re doing with their life.”
“You set people on fire, though,” Steve pointed out.
“Eh, what’s the difference between fire and water anyway? Hardly matters. It’s a good thing I broke through to Soul Expansion Phase though Clinging Fire is pretty great. And I really needed that extra energy.”
“You could have stayed in the Green Sands and done the same thing,” Steve pointed out.
“Pfeh. Sitting around in the clan, playing with the heat? It’s never going to be the same as getting up to some real stuff.”
For all his complaints, Steve was actually glad she’d been around to watch his back. He might not have made it out this time otherwise. Or maybe things would have gone smoothly. For all that Steve found himself in trouble quite often, Yustina seemed to heighten it. Perhaps that was the freedom of having reincarnated and not fearing death, but Steve was fairly certain she’d been that way in her previous life.
Once he’d gotten used to it, someone fanning the flames of danger but also helping him get out of it wasn’t so bad. It was basically just the same life he’d gotten used to but less lonely and maybe a little bit more exciting.
-----
Since neither of them wanted to be away from each other, and John’s family would be worried about him, he and Matayal were heading back for a time. Now that she’d gotten used to the particular oddities of her pregnancy, Matayal was handling things much more smoothly. The two of them still kept constant watch on the stream of water elemental spiritual energy one of the children was absorbing, but it was just sort of part of life now.
Though as they were stepping onto the docks of Dolomite Harbor at that very moment, it wouldn’t be for long. After all, it was difficult to absorb what wasn’t there. There might indeed still be some water element in the Stone Conglomerate, but it was a magnitude weaker than that of the earth element. With the smaller amount, they wouldn’t have to worry about the amount absorbed being at a dangerous level.
After the harbor came the great stairs, at the top of which they would hire a carriage to bring them back to the Tenebach Clan. As they had nearly reached the top, Matayal doubled over, clutching her gut- as if she had been struck.
“Are you okay?” John ducked down next to her defensively, but he quickly sensed what was actually happening. “Is… that okay?”
Matayal straightened up slowly, “Maybe. A little help?”
John nodded, carefully reaching inside of her to help steady the flow of earth element energy. It seemed that the first child wasn’t the only one that was special. Parents always wanted special children, but at the moment John was wishing his could be a little bit more normal. “This is a little awkward,” he said. “You should have some experience with this though, working with me. Will you be able to manage it?”
Matayal nodded. “I was just surprised when things suddenly shifted. I’m used to my insides staying still, and a month or two isn’t going to change that.” She sighed. “At least we don’t have to worry about her being unhealthy.”
“Her?” John asked. “Can you tell?”
“... I think so,” she said. “But I could be wrong.”
“What are the odds that the third one is normal?” John asked.
“Pretty small,” Matayal admitted.
-----
By the time they made it back to the Tenebach Clan, they’d determined that there were two girls and a boy. The boy was the one who had been so eager to absorb water element. That meant one girl was the one currently feeding on the earth element, and the final one was unknown. Possibly a normal child, but more likely just attuned to something else. Not air, unless there had been something about the Mulyani clan she didn’t like.
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But they would likely find out soon enough. Now that they knew it was worth the effort, they could seek out areas with high concentrations of elements, even if just temporarily. And the most likely candidate was quite easy to obtain.
Before that happened they stopped by the main house, only to find more than they bargained for. Steve was there, looking quite pleased with himself, along with Yustina. From the story about Yustina following him around, John and Matayal could make some assumptions- but they didn’t know if Steve had realized yet. John thought he’d maybe take pity on him, but that would be later. First was settling in, then dealing with important business.
Assuring John’s parents and grandfather that they were alright was the first order of business. “I’m alright now,” he said, “Though I’m not quite back to full strength.” Aside from the tip of his ear, his lung was still not quite perfect. It was just being very stubborn, though he was coaxing it a little bit at a time to heal better. It was difficult to explain how that worked in medical terms, but with some spiritual energy and medicinal herbs it was better than it had any right to be.
“I’m going to tear that man apart,” Luctus declared.
“Thanks,” John said. “But it’ll have to be a bit later, I imagine. You’re not that much stronger than me now, and Leutwin was firmly in Consolidated Soul Phase.”
Luctus sighed, “I might not be at all stronger than you. But the Tenebach clan can’t just take that lying down.”
“Honestly, I think we came out ahead there,” John said. “I was the first one to push things.”
“They would have been looking for trouble regardless,” Steve interrupted. “Hi, by the way. Just got back from the Darklands.”
“You didn’t mention that in your summary,” John retorted. Mostly he’d mentioned how Yustina just followed him around.
“I was getting there,” he shrugged. “I already shared this information, but I felt like doing a bit of snooping on the Society of Midnight. I found some actual documents about plans to disrupt the Tenebach clan, eventually leading up to another attack. It didn’t say when, but it seemed relatively long-term. Still useful, though.”
“That time frame might be pushed forward now,” John said. “Because of what happened in that arena battle.”
“Do you think so?” Luctus asked. “While they might have tried to kill you there, I don’t know if they’d risk Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators coming here. That would provoke a response from more than just the Amber Heart. And we significantly damaged their other forces.”
“That’s true,” John said, “But I ripped a little something out of Leutwin. A piece of Ciaritzal.”
Luctus whistled. “You can do that?”
“I didn’t exactly know it, but I sort of sensed that I could subconsciously and it led me to that point.”
“That’s a pretty big deal,” John’s grandfather commented. “If I understand that, it’s like you undid one of the empowerment ceremonies. But with less finesse.”
“I thought it was actually quite smoothly done,” John said.
“Maybe that wasn’t the right word,” Luctus agreed. “Less… kindness?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
“He basically ripped out some of the man’s core of his cultivation, and his potential,” Matayal commented dryly.
“They might believe that it was a coincidence,” Luctus supposed. “I wouldn’t have suspected anyone could do that. But they’d be quite happy to target you regardless of the reason.”
“I didn’t quite expect things to go that way,” John shook his head. “It’s bad timing.”
“How so?” Luctus said. “You survived, and while we might indeed wish for some more time for you two to cultivate, possibly reaching Consolidated Soul Phase yourselves, we also just came into useful information we can leverage.”
“It’s because I’m pregnant,” Matayal spat out. “With triplets.”
“Oh. That… does make things a bit more awkward, now doesn’t it?”
-----
Rather than continue a discussion about what they might do about the Society of Midnight, John and Matayal set about doing something they knew they could deal with. They made their way to Ciaritzal’s cave. Even as they were stepping inside, Matayal felt the clenching in her gut as the third child reached out for the abundant darkness element. At least they didn’t have to be concerned that she was fire or light aligned.
John clutched her hand and helped her control the sudden surge of darkness. She’d gotten some experience controlling each of John’s elements, but the initial surge was hardest to deal with. After he helped her smooth things over, they walked deeper into the cave. John continued to hold Matayal’s steps, guiding her as they went into the encroaching darkness.
Despite the gloomy atmosphere, John was actually quite comfortable in Ciaritzal’s cave. The empowerment made it so he could see clearly in most darkness, and Ciaritzal’s own product was like being in a well-lit room. The creature himself was a bit hard to make out, but John saw the shifting shadows and the blacker blacks that made up the creature.
“What reason do you have to come here today, young master of the Tenebach clan?” Ciaritzal’s face approached closely, then he sniffed like a dog. “Does it have something to do with your child?”
“I… think she should be fine without you. Though we might discuss that.” John reached deep inside of himself and pulled out the small piece dwelling in his dantian. As it rose to the surface, John almost saw the black orbs that were Ciaritzal’s eyes shimmer.
“What is this? A portion of me I thought forever lost. Retrieved intact, even.” The mote of blackness found its way into the guardian beast’s mouth, to be swallowed a moment later. John felt a slight bolstering of the darkness energy in the area. “Did you somehow slay one of the elders of the Society of Midnight?”
“No,” John said. “I sensed it… subconsciously. I was able to draw it out by reaching into him.”
“Is that so?” Ciaritzal leaned close to John’s face, and something that felt like a lick of darkness brushed up against him. “Our compatibility is the highest of any of your line. Perhaps that is a task you could replicate, though I sense you were injured in the attempt.”
“Something like that,” John said. “I couldn’t refuse to enter the battle. Your shard seemed to have been one of those reasons. Does it help?”
“Help?” Ciaritzal grinned widely. “Oh yes. If you manage to retrieve more of these, then it will be of great benefit to us. Myself, and your clan. For my strength is yours, as yours is mine.” Ciaritzal thought for a few moments. “If you get a few more of those, I could empower the next generation without requiring your generation to give of yourselves. Though it would still require your help to channel the power.”
“That would be quite beneficial to the clan indeed,” John said. “Though I can’t promise anything. Every target would be… quite strong. And they’ll probably be on guard.” Though he wasn’t sure if that would matter, except that they might kill him while he was making the attempt to pull something out of them. Then again, he didn’t intend to try that alone ever again. “You said something about our child. Do you know anything about them or…?”
“Human children are not my specialty,” Ciaritzal said. “But I do know that a child absorbing energy in the womb is quite special. Take great care with them.”
“As if we would do any different with our own children,” John smiled.
“On that note,” Matayal asked hesitantly, “Would it be possible for me to return here occasionally? This is the highest concentration of darkness energy around the clan.”
“Of course you may,” Ciaritzal grinned. “The wife of the future head of the clan is allowed here anytime you please. In fact, I would quite enjoy the company. Some find my presence unsettling.”
John understood why they might. Even his grandfather was reluctant to approach too often. But to John, Ciaritzal was like a friendly pet. An enormous pet made out of shadows, but the bigger they were the more friendliness they could hold within them. Or something like that. Either way, he would be accompanying Matayal inside, since it was also an excellent place for his own cultivation. The walk was a bit inconvenient, but it should actually be more effective than training in his quarters.