-"What?"
-"I wasn't so sure earlier even if I had my doubt... But yeah, this is your brother, or rather what remains of him..."
-"But...But... Didn't he die in a clash against a powerful clan? That's the reason why we distance ourselves from the village, right? Because that's where clans use to travel from time to time..." Lor was having a hard time understanding what his father had said.
-"Listen, my son, we tried to protect you from the truth, your mother and I..."
-"No, no! I can't buy it, a lot of people died this day, was it a lie too? How could you create such a big lie? Were the other villagers in the known, too?? And these pitiful gazes my classmates used to look at me, was it because they knew I lived in deception? I always thought it was because we lived outside the village..."
Lor had a hard time accepting this fact, feeling betrayed at the treacherous act of his parent, his body was trembling, forgetting the situation where he was, his mind blank, just a thought floating in his mind.
-"Why? Why did you lie to us? My brother was alive all along and you let us mourn him, weep all the evening while clutching to each other Mel and I..."
-"It's not what you think Lor, Rak is dead! In fact, he is in a state worse than death! It's not your brother anymore, just an empty shell, that's why we discard you two from the terrible truth..."
-"Is it another lie dad? Just to justify your trickery on your own children!? Where is he, where are you, Rak? Come, it's been such a long time I didn't see you..."
Lor was walking toward the mist, tears streaming all other his face, his eyes a little elusive. His heart was in chaos, momentarily not knowing who to trust. He had found a new brother in this peculiar black man that was Alix, but now his brittle world had taken a heavy blow, threatening to collapse at any moment.
-"Don't go, stay here!" Understanding the state of thought of his son, Erik grabs his hand, stopping the flame on it as to not hurt him once more.
-"Let me go!!!" Lor was in a state of rage, trying to undo the powerful grip of his father. Erik didn't let the furious glare of his son destabilized him and was solid as a rock.
Suddenly a tendril of mist quickly wrapped itself around his now fire-naked wrist, a gasped escaped his mouth under the painful cold pervading in his hand. He quickly mobilized his energy against this foreign one, trying to expulse it off of his body.
His attention focused on this pernicious attack, the strength in his hand reduced because of the ongoing subtle battle going on in it, letting Lor escape. His son quickly disappeared in the mist under his imploring gaze.
-"NOOOOOO! My son!!! Quickly come back! You!!! Let him go, he did nothing to you, please, Rak, if you can hear me somewhere, don't do anything to him, please!!"
Under the terrible storm of emotion taking place in his mind, a lot of areas on his body became normal again, his fire beginning to disappear. The mist didn't wait for more and attacked Erik relentlessly, quickly taking the upper hand in this unbalanced fight.
Méline tried to help her father, seeing the despair on his face and the threatening situation. She didn't understand why her brother went into the mist but one thing was certain, she has to do something.
Walking as she could, she put her hand on him and let her Evaporate energy penetrate through her father. Feeling the incoming peaceful energy in his body, Erik quickly regains a steady mind, use to battle after all. He wouldn't have lost his mind against another foe, but this one creates emotion too strong for him to remain calm.
His flame flaring again, it pushed the mist away from them for a short moment, allowing him to analyze the situation. His wife was laying without moving on the soil, his son had disappeared in the mist while his daughter was behind him, a hand touching his back. Alix was next to the mist, unmoving as if unaware of the situation but looking unhurt.
-"Alix, composed yourself, now isn't the time to daydream, help me ward off this mist with the flame technique I taught you. The true enemy isn't this fog but the one behind it! Quick!!"
Alix heard a voice in the middle of the storm, focusing on it, he recognizes it as he heard it a lot this last week. Lessons after lessons appeared in his mind and he understands what he had to do. The green energy had begun subduing the Darkness Emanation but the process was still in action.
Knowing each second put this family into more danger, he focuses on his nervous cells, letting them free their Energysome of all their energy. A gigantic flow of pure energy pierces through his body, trying to go out from every pore. He never let go of all his energy before, not knowing what the outcome could be, but Erik knew he hides a part of his talent, hence why he asks for his help.
He couldn't let this energy instantly burst into flame like Erik because he never converts his Energysome to an attribute, preferring to remain free to choose. The drawback was the time needed to convert manually all this energy to Fire attribute one.
Fortunately, Alix had trained a lot this last week and he was rather good and quick at it. A minute that seems like an hour for Erik and Méline passed. Erik had protected his wife and daughter with his blue fire, knowing the mist would choose to attack them if it understands it couldn't do a thing against him.
He was feeling the incredible quantity of energy mobilized in Alix's body before a powerful light blinded their eyes.
"WROOOOOUCH"
Ten-meter red flames ignite the sky, evaporating the mist around them in a matter of seconds, burning the grass. The flame didn't try to burn Erik's blue one but wrapped around them for a good ten seconds.
When all return to its previous state, a vast area, approximately twenty meters around the group was completely burned, the soil blackened.
-"What a fearful fellow, I knew he wasn't going all the way but to be able to burn this large an area at the early Evaporation level...You would normally manifest just let a little flame..."
Erik, Méline, and Cilis were apparently fine, but Alix was gasping, a knee planted in the carbonized soil, empty of energy. The Dark Emanation automatically flared up again, fighting against this mysterious green blood which didn't seem to have truly go all out."
-"Hehehe... you are quite good, young man... I didn't plan to have another powerful one in addition to Erik here.."
A spooky icy voice echoed, its laughter screeching against the ears. A genre couldn't be attributed to it, strangely ethereal. Ten or so shadows were now seen at the outskirt of the forest, walking near the little group.
The family could see one of the shadows even gliding above the grass or what remained of it. It was different from the nine others. The voice could be traced to it even if it seemingly echoed from all directions and it was pure white contrary to the nine other black ones.
It had this misty feeling the fog previously surrounding them, had, ethereal and cold. Some trees were visible behind it, proof of its unreal nature. The other nine were more common, just nine men with large black attire covering their bodies and faces.
An eleven body was unmoving, lifted without cares on one of a shadow's shoulders, his hand, and feet tied up with a mist rope.
-"Lor !! What did you do to him !??" Erik shouted, wanting to run to his son but resisting the temptation to protect his daughter and Alix behind him.
-"Me? Hehehe, nothing really, it not the reason why I'm here... Today I'm here for you Erik... Three years waiting for this moment! To be strong enough to contend against you and your crapy blue flame!! Let me savor it, please... Three years passed to accumulate energy, killing beast, time and time again, to finally sacrifice their bodies two weeks ago! You should have seen the thunderstorm I created, quite a sight! You should be thankful, all of this was just for you!"
-"The storm which didn't stop for a week was done by you? It explains why there weren't many beasts around, these last years... But I'm surprised, to know a powerful Emanation like you would be focused on taking petty revenge just because I injured you... You should know, I let you escape alive because I didn't have the heart to kill you, you were my son after all..."
-"Ohoh, hearing you, I would almost believe you were stronger than me..." A sarcastic smile appeared on the white shadow's face.
-"Oh I was, and I still am, if we didn't encounter a magical beast just before, I would kick your ass again, and this time forever!"
-"You mean my little Thunder Tiger? I wasn't counting on it to kill you but it's such a shame you killed it... You know it's quite difficult to find one to raise..."
-"The Tiger was yours??" Erik had an incredulous look, slowly understanding all the ins and outs of this declaration.
-"So you tried to weaken us before truly going yourself against us... It explains why the tiger was here in the first place and why it wasn't able to use its fearful control of Thunder. It didn't learn as you kidnap it before he could. Ahahah, it means you know you are not my match, even now!!"
-"Strength isn't just about fighting old man, strategies and tactics are a part of mine. But you wouldn't understand, us Emanations are clearly smarter than you, pitful humans!"
-"If my son didn't absorb you to try to make his Door's tattoo at the Condensation level, you wouldn't be here right now, so be thankful to the human you denigrate!"
-"Stop trying to win some time to heal yourself, I know what I'm doing here... Catch them!! Except for this man, I will do it myself!"
The nine shadowy men automatically, without saying anything, approach the group. Erik tried to stop them but white tendrils of mist keep appearing before him, sealing most of his moves.
-"Don't you dare hurt them!!'"
-"Actually, I was here to just kill you after letting you suffer what you did to me... But seeing your love for them, I'm actually beginning to think of another plan... Perhaps you will suffer more if I killed them one by one before your eyes? What do you say?"
-"F*cker, you think I will let you?"
Erik jumped with his last remnant of strength he accumulated during their conversation and a powerful fire uppercut connected with this mysterious Emanation.
"TCHHHHHH"
Mist evaporate under the hot blow as if having to encounter its nemesis, but the fire energy wasn't sufficient to destroy entirely the mist body.
-"Hehehe, didn't I already said I have planned it all! You can't beat me anymore... This blow of yours was particularly painful for me you know... Hit the wounded woman!" His body was slowly taking his previous shape as if nothing happened
The shadows had caught the three of them during the short exchange. One grabbed a member of the family while another monitor them, making eight of them mobilized as they put Lor with them. While the last one approach Cilis, a vicious glint shined under his black hood.
Cilis had awake under the pain of being lifted without care, a cry escaping from her trembling lips...She didn't pronounce a word, knowing it would only aggravate the situation.
Méline was a little better, but her face was the picture of anguish, tears streaming down as she sobs but her eyes remain hard cold, wanting to wound these hateful men.
Alix was maintained in the arm of his aggressor, not able to keep his body up. He more or less understood what was going, having caught small clues.
"Rak, Erik's son should have swallowed an Emanation to increase his strength in one way or another. The Emanation should have taken the upper hand as in my case when bellow. But he didn't have the green blood to protect him and he probably ended up losing his mind to the Misty Emanation. What I don't understand is why Erik tried to kill it..? Are they this fearful..?"
Understanding what was going to happen to the lovely mother of this family, he grits his teeth, trying to free himself from the hands of these aggressors, a never seen before rage was storming in his mind as he looked towards these hateful shadows.
Red tendrils crept again under his skin, pulsing with a bloody light but he didn't do anything this time to hold them back.