Back at the Requiem Empire, there were three of the Six Blades sent to train those to prepare them for the coming Advent. At the same time as Azazel was 'teaching' Rose and Ryder, there were two females themselves that were ready to clash together, those being the daughters of the Time Emperor in the flesh. Emma Rivera and Genesis Rivera, both of them with abilities good to their names, Emmy had inherited some of the coldness that her father was infamous for, is that in the form of her ice manifesting/manipulation abilities.
In contrast to that, Gen had inherited something way different, actually getting the innate technique of her aunt, but at the same time the speed from her uncle. If you remember, she could also manipulate metal to some extent, that being an innate bloodline power from her mother's sides, but instead of crystals, it had extended down to other ores instead. Light manifestation combined with super speed and metal manipulation, this being enhanced with the Requiem Peace of Mind technique meant something horrible for those any of them would face.
Their eyes, icy blue for Em, pink for Gen, collided with each other, the looks for the two sisters have never been so different in terms of personality just from looking at their faces. The awaiting excitement for Genesis battled the immense determination of Emma, for their fight began the second the whistle was blown by their very own cousin, Mei. And just like that, they were off against one another!
Gen was the first to move at unprecedented speeds, soles gliding against the ground, it would barely even be a millisecond before she'd reach her older sister. However, Em prepped for this, her palm barely touching against the ground so the metal platform below her would be secreted in the chilly element she harnessed. Turning to a slide, the second that Genny's soles would touch against this meant she'd likely break a bone or two when she slips, luckily enough, it turned out to be the opposite, as the second she'd made contact against the ice- she leaped into the air.
Tilting her head in the curiosity of what her baby sister was gonna do next, Em picked up her hand so a continuous barrage of ice cylinders would begin to barge out from beneath the icy floor below her. Aiming them at her sibling's chest as she soared through the air, she couldn't help but wonder how she was gonna get through this roadblock, and to which, she was met with the simple grazing of lightning against her face. The stench of fear began to wander its way into her nostrils, the presence of her familial's recognizable energy had faded in about a split second, and it had reappeared to none other than right behind her.
Stepping out from the shield Emmy served as, Gen held the same sort of smugness as her twin brother, hands in her pockets and everything,
"Looks like something that simply won't work on me, big sis… is that all you got?~" Gen sweetly mocked her sister's inability to come up with any other attacks, to which Em couldn't help but grit her teeth, and raise her left arm from the side of her body.
Clenching her fist, instinctively, she tried to slam a punch to the side of her sister's face, leading Gen to grab at her wrist instantly and hit it out of the way with her right palm. Inching closer as she slid her right foot against the leg of her sibling, she grabbed at the collar of her attire, leading to her descent toward the ground as Genesis had gone for the trip move. Slamming her sister's back against the ground, Rivera couldn't help but smile cutely as she wiped her hands, clearly proud of herself,
"Learned that from Auntie Mad," Gen stated pridefully, seeing as how after Em landed on the floor, the whistle was blown- the victor had been decided,
"Ahh.. that's just unfair, I didn't get martial arts lessons from Madi," Emma argued, grabbing the reached-out hand of her sister so she could be yanked back up, and slap Gen's forehead with the back of her hand playfully.
Sticking out her right hand, she flicked her fingers so the ice would melt right over the metallic floors, Mei warping beside her cousins. Rubbing her shoulder for a second, Em turned to her aunt's daughter while Gen just stared, hands now behind her back waiting for the report on how the both of them did,
"Alright, report for the day: Genesis gets an A+ for outsmarting, intelligence, and power usage, so she passes. Emma gets an A+ in power usage, but an F in the other two," Mei informed her two relatives, leading Gen to jump up and down with a happy laugh with Emma turning her head as if confused. She was the prodigy and firstborn of the Requiem Time Emperor, how could she fail her younger sister? It was all written out on her face, leading Mei to react,
"Okay, first, that's the thing you're doing wrong. You're too arrogant, and you believe yourself to be the true heir to Uncle's legacy. Second, ice isn't your only power so I don't know why you're just using that. That's mostly Matt's thing anyway. I guess you need a reality check- but if anyone's gonna inherit and be the one to bear it all after Uncle, it's August. Don't stress about that much too, though, it's our place in the world… unfortunately, our purpose is much more different than those of the men. Focus on training so when the time comes, we can aid our parents. Em, work on that stuff I said, Gen, move on to preparation with the Blade assigned to us," Mei instructed her female relatives, leading for them both to give different reactions.
Emma scoff in a seemingly dejected mannerism with Genesis nodding, bouncing her head up and down in understanding, then turning away so she could jokingly march her way to the location of their assigned instructor. Just about to move past her positioned older cousin, Mei decided to place her hand on the shoulder of the Emperor's firstborn, her face didn't change, she kept her eyes on the floor, and in those eyes, there laid that feeling, signature of the Riveras… powerlessness. It was like an inescapable aura, something like Lucifer's chaotic energy or Satan's menacing creepiness, something you couldn't ignore,
"I get what you're trying to do, but it's fine with just being yourself. You of all people should know, we're only used when we're useful. Don't go about pleasing anyone for anyone, do it for yourself if that's what you want. This is a man's world, Emmy. Don't forget it," Mei reminded her cousin, with the older of the two unable to help herself, as Emma turned her head to watch her adopted cousin walk away toward the exit of this area.
And there she was, lights flickering off, alone in the darkness of this hollow chamber, the daughter of the Emperor, all she was, the offspring of someone who didn't even pay her any mind. And what? To please him, so she could prove herself worthy, she couldn't even be a mother without wanting daddy's approval. Did she have to be so tied down to the restraints of wanting attention from a man like that to be a functioning woman? It all felt so forced and irritating, that she felt this way, she couldn't even stand up straight anymore, all she could do was hit the ground and lay against one of those metal walls.
If you were to enter there, you wouldn't be able to tell her apart from the rest of the darkness, for the skylight above that shined the rays of the sun during the daylight had begun to set during the night. Moonlight against the side of her face, Em stood with her arm over her knee, rear of her skull against the divider, hidden away from the prying eyes of the world,
~Shouldn't I be the strongest? Shouldn't I have even the one to die that day, with Azazel or whoever else being the one to drag me to them. Isn't that the burden I was left with, being the oldest, I should've been demanded that, the ability to lay down your life for anyone and anything? Instead, I was smashed to pieces and deemed useless for the rest of the world, while my brother was gone, everyone praised him for doing the stupidest thing in the world. Why did he have to go…
It should've been me, maybe then if it was, I would've got some attention. Dad always wanted a girl but the second his boy grows of age, it's always them, right?
'He's the strongest.'
'He's the savior.'
'He's the one who'll end it all.'
But why is it that he has to weigh that burden on his shoulders? I couldn't save him then, but it's not even about August anymore. I'm the firstborn, I have a responsibility to ensure my brother, my sister, my cousins, all of them are protected so the next generation is ensured to exist. If I can't even manage to protect any of them, then what good am I at being a mother… how will I even protect my son if I can't even do any good with them, first?~
Those thoughts raced through her head as she recalled everything, from the events of Kuno's reign during January 2037 to now. She was deemed useless, away from the rest of the action, maybe that was a good thing, but she never knew, the best she could do was fight one of Kuno's pawns. Beyond that, what else was she capable of? Was she so destined to be chained, so stuck in the past, she couldn't move forward and prove herself? No, that wasn't her destiny. Mei was right about one thing, she needed to innovate and keep training so she could become stronger, she wasn't a bystander, she was the protagonist of her own life- she wouldn't watch any longer!
Palms implanting against the ground to the sides of her figure, Emma stood proud, wiping and cleaning some of her clothing off the dust that'd gathered. Just as they did back then when they shared that lunch on the rooftop of their school, way back when, the star reflected in the center of her icy eye, glistening and sparkling so the seeds of hope would be planted that day.
She would be strong enough to be her person, she had a responsibility as Emma Rivera to ensure everyone was safe, that the people she loved would be protected. That was her resolve, and she'd be damned if she let anyone else waver from her path, ever again!
At the same time, Gen had been practicing on her own, this time, with Mei. Seeing as how it was getting late, both of them decided to just go on their own and see how far they'd come in terms of basic strength. So, donning a sports bra and shorts, she punched at the open palms of her cousin, making small shockwaves, continually making bruises appear over the hands of her relative. As a sign of progress, Mei couldn't help but laugh together with her dear loved one, the both of them sharing a hug, seeing as how Genesis had managed to get it so easily.
Enhancing her strength and accumulating the plasma she manipulates into her veins, she could unleash intensive shockwaves the second her fists hid their target. Widening her targeting so she could expand the damage further out if she were going for the chest, she could extend the shockwave out to go to the arms and throat of her enemy. Right now, the second her knuckles had previously hit the palm of her cousin, it had been reaching out to her shoulder. Luckily, because of her inherited skills from Madi's side, the healing energy acted as quickly as ever so she could regenerate instantaneously and feel no pain as a result. However, I digress.
After they'd tested out Gen's progress, the pink-eyed woman yawned for a second, going over to some of the weight-lifting equipment to take a hanging sweater off. Noticing the chill, Mei shivered jokingly while Genny went about putting on that jacket, the former of which, the purple-eyed Star, activated her energy aura to protect her from the chill. Just about to draw up her hands, Mei thought back to the way Emma looked before they got in here, there was something about it, some silent reason that kept her going. She did her best to comfort her and make sure she didn't wallow for any useless reason, but they were cousins, not on the level of Mary and her, so, she decided to ask her very own sister who saw her every day,
"Oi, Genny. {Gen: Hmm?} Do you know any reason that Em's acting the way she is?" Curiously interrogated Mei about the psyche of her cousin, to which Gen thought for a moment, zipping up the middle of her hoodie, stopping right in her tracks to ponder,
"Hm- well, I suppose she does. Emmy's always been a hard worker to try and protect the ones she loves in her way. Whenever people try to criticize her about it, she either ignores them or just tells them to screw off. Heh, I guess she feels the responsibility of being the oldest. Don't blame her, Dad bein' who he is, I understand she feels the burden to be enough to live up to his expectations. She wants to be enough and noticed, but I don't think she realizes that's not her place in the universe.
August was the one destined to be by Dad's side, I've sort of accepted my place, and I like my life the way it is. Dad and everyone else fights for the leisure of having a good long life, nothing's demanded of me so I take that to enjoy the life I have and when things are demanded of me, I do my best to make sure I repay everyone who's let me have the life I have. The only thing I sort of empathize with is big brother, he's just… back with Celine, I wasn't there for him. Or rather, he wouldn't let me be there for him. So I want to be there for everyone the times I can be. That's just- the type of person I am, heh," Gen's words sent Mei into a daze as if her eyes were shadowed by imaginary clouds that hid the heavens from the eyes of humanity, she was lost in her mind.
Wandering about, the words her very cousin said echoed throughout her brain, pondering and thinking about the depth behind such simplicity. Just wanting to repay someone when they allowed you to live such a full long life, was she really happy throwing away the life she had now to repay a debt for the men of this world when she could tell them 'fuck off and be her person? Was she thinking about this the wrong way? If the truth she formulated about this world was righteous and just, why would she be feeling this way, just from listening to Gen's point of view on the matter?
Was she thinking for herself or was someone else intruding on her thought process? Even she couldn't know the answer behind that question, so as she watched everything set itself back into order, conscience snapping her back to reality, she parted her lips,
"That's a good reason…" Mei stated somberly, Gen unaware of the tone, falsely believing the way she spoke to me for some other reason.