Oz standing there pondering what to do next, didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Several explosions off in the distance one at the main ASERO Headquarters, and another at the S&M Dept.. Without another thought Brow feeling like he was back to normal quickly grabbed Oz and ran to one of the back walls of the underground lab.
"Uncle Brow! What are you doing!? We need to find Aunt Marina and my Mom!" Oz yelled out.
"Oh shut up lad! We need to get to another place where we can lay low for a bit!" He bellowed back, while searching the walls for something. Pressing a panel in a keypad was revealed and he punched in a couple of numbers.
A door opened right next to them, hurriedly rushing himself and Oz in the door closed behind them. Brow pressed a couple more buttons and a timer appeared on the screen. "Alright lad, we need to go!" Rushing down a hallway to an underground platform with a couple of cars, Brow opened a door and ushered Oz to get in.
Crossing his arms Oz stood there angrily, "Brow you need to tell me what is going on!"
Brow clenched his fist and walked up to Oz with his head down. "Lad, I'm askin ya here. Please listen to this uncle of yours for now... Please..." He looked up at Oz with tears in his eyes.
Struck by the sight of his uncle Oz couldn't say no and got into the car. Brow wiped the tears from his face and sighed as he looked at the path they ran from with sorrow. Loading himself up in the car they drove down the tunnel.
After a while of silence, Brow filled Oz in on the details of what happened with Marina. Utterly stunned Oz didn't have any words to say. He just looked at his lap in sorrow.
"Your mum on the other hand we have at least a year minimum before anything happens to her. She is a strong one that lass." He sighed. "With the time we have we have to come up with a plan. Understood?" He asked with a cold tone.
Oz looking at Brow still couldn't say a word and only looked ahead down the dark tunnel as they drove.
Shortly after they arrived at their destination. On the other side of the city Brow had purchased another piece of property under the guise of a false name. Not the one he used previously but a different one entirely. It was another underground lab, this one a bit more state of the art compared to what they had been living in.
"You see lad, in these times with our backgrounds you just cant be too careful... I had started to prepare this place for us all to move to to ensure our safety but it wasn't time..." He paused with a sorrow sigh. "If only I had moved us sooner... Well, you don't have to worry about them following us down this way. I set it up as a precaution if there was ever a danger that forced us to move the cave on the way would collapse and the previous lab would become dust."
Getting out of the car Oz looked around and couldn't help but feel sorrow in his heart. Marina betrayed them, his mother was taken. It all seemed like there was no hope... He looked down at the floor as tears started to stream down his face. Brow smacked him on the back shocking him back to reality and pulled him into a hug.
"This isn't the time to lose hope, it's time to steel ourselves." Brow spoke with a calm tone. "We have some time. Let's do this proper!" Standing straight and looking around the lab, Oz steeled himself for the coming days when he himself is going to need to fight.
Over the course of a month Oz would put himself through serious training regimes while Brow was working on new projects. Flit Oz's new little companion the Shadow Ferret would be playing around the lab sometimes joining Oz in his training.
Oz had come to some conclusions about what Flit really is, but he couldn't really say for sure. So he quickly dismissed those thoughts. After some time with him Oz found out that his control over the Shadow Essence had significantly grown due to the connection they share. Being able to control shadows themselves Oz was able to expand the reach of shadows even completely void the light around him turning it to a black space of nothingness. When it was completely dark he was still able to see as if it was daylight, leaving him with no weakness of sight in day or night.
He had also come to understand that Flit was able to use his Lightning Essence as well which explained the purple on him. The color of what Elemental Essence you could use really showed in your own person. Like in Oz's own eyes, there were purple and shadowed flecks in his irises.
During this time Oz would have also done all his research into Elemental Essences. Each Element has 3 ranks based on purity of the Essence. As per his Lightning Essence it goes from Blue, White and lastly Purple being it's purest form. Shadow Essence wasn't even among the research that he looked through, so he asked Brow.
Furrowing his brows and raising his hand to pinch his chin to think, Brow didn't have a proper answer for him. "Well Lad, there is only one other person to have had the Shadow Essence that I know of, but he has been gone for years."
Not in favor of the answer Oz couldn't do anything with the lack of knowledge, he could only experiment with the Shadow Essence. What he has concluded is that it unconsciously combines with his Lightning Essence practically empowering it to incomprehensible heights of power.
Oz also remembered that this world was based around cultivation, so there should be methods and skills right? But he hasn't come across any books or methods of it.
"Uncle Brow? Are there like Martial Arts literature or books on how to cultivate your strength?" Oz had asked inquisitively.
Brow started laughing hard to the point of tears, "Bahahaha!!! What do you think this is lad? An old Novel from ages ago?" He asked while wiping the tears of laughter from his face. "There is nothing like that!"
Oz stood there with a stupefied look on his face. Which only made Brow laugh even harder. Then he became serious. "Lad while there is a method of cultivation it is up to each individual as to how it is done. It is all about your image and how you proceed to gather strength. In this world you don't need fancy moves to get stronger. There are various ways to gain power, body modification, and meditation are some forms. You choose your path in this life, it isn't defined by something as mediocre as Martial arts. While in some cases having a few combat styles under your belt doesn't hurt."
Thinking on Brows response Oz remembered that his Uncle Brow only used raw strength in their sparring sessions no combat style was involved. He just knew how to fight, and he was good at it. After their last sparring session Oz could tell that Brow had lost his Earth and Metal Essences with his crystal being taken, but something else had surprised Oz. Brow had Shadow Essence!
When they first started their match Oz had made the first move. Purple sparks of lightning sparked through his feet and fights as he zipped from his stance and instantly appeared behind Brow midair ready to throw a punch at the back of his head. In an instant concern washed over Oz as shadows appeared around Brow's fist and his eyes went pitch black as he twisted himself punching Oz in the stomach knocking him back into the wall.
Oz in a daze quickly snapped out of it and looked at Brow who was leaking an aura of shadows. "Uhmm.... Uncle Brow?..." Oz asked while pointing at Brow's fist.
Looking down at his hand and back at Oz they where both stupefied. Looking back on it, when Oz had the help of Flit to save Brow from dying the Shadow Essence itself had helped with repairing Brow's "Circuit." So the only conclusion is that he would have Shadow Essence, the only thing that they couldn't answer was how? Brow had lost his Essence Crystal, so there was no clear way of actually being able to tell how or why this was possible. Oz could only assume that his Ability True Augmentation had something to do with it.
For some time Oz had been thinking about how that was possible, the only conclusion. True Augmentation, the ability he received after he had died previously. He was able to alter his own being so of course he could alter other beings with some added help, which came from the Shadow Essence. The more he pondered the more he got lost in the capabilities of his ability and the Shadow Essence.
For the next month Oz would train with both of his Elemental Essence and learn more about the world he now lived, himself, and his abilities.