"What does the Arcellius Family have to do with me?" Freon frowned.
"Everything," Avin sighed. "I wanted your sister to hear this as well. The two of you are the last descendants of the Arcellius Family!"
"That's impossible!" Gunther shouted. Seeing everyone's looking over, he apologized. "Sorry, that was out of line. Ignore me."
"Uncle… What do you mean? What happened to the Arcellius Family anyway?"
"That…" Avin hesitated. "I cannot tell you yet."
"I don't even have the Arcellius surname. My surname is Adnire," Freon continued. "I've never heard about this from my parents. Are you sure about this?"
Avin chuckled. "I'm certain about it. I was the one who raised your father."
"What?" Freon was shocked. "What do you mean?" No matter how Freon looked at his uncle, he seemed to be a middle-aged man. His father was by no means young, so Avin claimed to be as old as his grandfather! He had to be at least sixty years old!
"I'm speaking the truth. Your father, Mikaus Adnire, was the sole child of Lady Serana. I was the Protector of the Arcellius Family when it fell," he said melancholily. "I'm in my nineties already."
"You're ninety years old?" This time, no one could believe that!
"I don't believe any of this, uncle. This is ridiculous," Freon shook his head. "Why are you telling these lies?"
"Perhaps, it's easier to show you," Avin sighed.
Everyone watched as he raised a wand and summoned three separate spells. Triple-casting! A pin-drop silence reigned. Any Arcanist worth their salt knew how difficult it was to cast a single spell. Double-casting was already regarded as a legendary technique and the absolute height of skill in the Zino Kingdom. The number of double-casters were estimated to be less than ten! When considering the sheer number of talented Arcanists alone, from across all the Engelsheft Families, anyone could see how insanely difficult double-casting was to grasp.
Yet, Avin singlehandedly shattered that preconception and revealed triple-casting! The scene was hard to reject as Freon, Yuna, and Gunther sucked in a cold breath. It was easy to imagine how monstrously powerful Avin had to be. Even the Conquestian, the strongest Arcanist in the kingdom, had only grasped double-casting! However, Avin must have reached a level far beyond even the Conquestian. The three were so surprised that they wondered if they were dreaming!
"How is this possible?" Gunther said with twitching eyebrows.
Yuna thought, I've underestimated him still! This is far beyond the level of a Ten Dawn…
Freon whispered, "Uncle, what is your Core Level now?"
"Hehe…" Avin laughed. "You don't have to worry about that."
"In that case, if you're so strong, then what happened to my parents?" Freon asked with a sharp glare. As he thought about all the tribulations that he and his sister had to pass to reach this point, a sense of killing intent emerged.
"I…" Avin sighed. "The truth is that I felt I was making a breakthrough in my Core Level so I decided to train in isolation. In a flash, several years passed and when I came back… Your family was already devastated. It took me a long time to discover what happened to you and track you here."
"Is that so?" Freon snorted. "So, now what? Why did you decide to tell us about the Arcellius Family now? What is your intent?"
Everyone turned to Avin as he explained, "I'm here to awaken your sister's Bloodline."
"Bloodline Awakening?" Just when everyone thought the surprises were over, another explosive shock was revealed. At these words, Gunther snuck a glance at Yuna beside him. Desire was burning in his eyes.
Bloodlines referred to hereditarily inherited talent. Only extremely powerful families, such as the descendants of the Engelsheft Families, had Bloodlines to speak of. Although much was still unknown, there were two established facts. Bloodlines, when awakened, could provide an enormous boost to Magic Potential, effectively halving the time for double the effort. It was a large reason why the Engelsheft Families could continuously produce powerful heirs. They naturally had the innate capability to dominate over everyone else! Furthermore, they could give birth to extraordinary unique powers that were exclusive to them. They were known as Bloodline Abilities!
Avin nodded. "If Nassandra fully awakened her Bloodline, then her potential would grow by leaps and bounds. It would far exceed even now. With me by her side, I could nurture her to become on par with the Conquestian in a flash!" he said confidently.
"This…" Freon was sad. At this rate, his sister was going to far outgrow him. Any pride in being her older brother evaporated like that!
"Does everyone inherit these Bloodlines?" Shirley wondered. "If so, then how come Freon doesn't have it as well?"
"Not everyone can awaken it. For example, Freon's father could not," Avin shook his head. "Furthermore, it's quite dangerous to attempt it. However, the benefits would be immense."
"How are you so sure that Freon can't awaken it then?" she continued.
"Typically, those who have the potential to awaken their Bloodline should already be blessed with immense Magic Potential," he answered. "Freon… Well…"
Shirley offered a sympathetic look. Freon raised his head and locked eyes with his uncle before sneering, "You don't understand a thing, do you? You think that my sister wants power? You think we give a damn about the Arcellius Family? All we want to do is to live in peace. Your business is your business, but don't interfere with mine!"
"Freon, I…"
"No, I heard enough," Freon's blood boiled as he spat, "While you scurried off to train, my family was attacked and killed. Our parents were murdered in front of us, while I ran away with my sister. We kept travelling here and there by feeding off trash and scraps and stealing whatever food we could. Even if the food was rotten with maggots, we still stuffed our faces! We braved the freezing cold nights, hidden in alleyways, where it was so cold that we could not even sleep. We wore clothes that were so tattered and dirty that it made us retch. Then you show up at our doorstep talking about Bloodline Awakening and the Arcellius Family… You don't understand a damn thing about my sister and I!"
Freon laughed inwardly. Everyone was like this in the end. They praised her sister's power and potential, but never her as a human. They never once considered her feelings. Nassandra was his simple little sister, a mere child. Although she maintained a mature persona, Freon knew better than anyone else that it was just a façade. She never wanted power, authority, or responsibilities. She was horrified to know she possessed the power to reap lives. Everyone idolized her and feared her. Those tears that she shed, only he knew. From his uncle's words alone, Freon realized that his uncle was just like the rest. Thinking this, Freon's respect for his uncle diminished to zero.
The tension in the room soared. Gunther coughed, "I should be going. It's getting late."
He then grabbed his things and snuck out quietly. Yuna gave one last glance at Freon before she too left. It became too awkward to stay. Shirley was tempted to leave as well, but there was nowhere she could stay. Therefore, she smiled wryly and waved the two farewell. She never could have imagined that things would spiral out of control so quickly…