[ FEW MOMENTS EARLIER ]
Nemma exited the tub. She was standing on a towel, brushing her hair. Her hair was long and curly, so it took quite some time to brush it. She wrapped her hair with a towel and dressed into clothes that Lori gave her.
She woke up few hours earlier than Sion did. Lori treated her wounds that cold made to her body. Her energy was almost completely filled by now. But she looked sad.. she didn't know if Sion would make it, he was lying on a bed upstairs still drained of energy. Lori said that, unlike Nemma, his energy couldn't be messed with because he possesses a Rune.
She sat down in the bathroom and covered her face with her hands. Nemma was sitting for some time, until a massive outburst of energy happened in the house. She quickly stood up and prepared to exit. She opened the door-..
Santiago, Lori and Sion were standing in middle of the room. Santiago just sheathed his blade. Have they battled? She didn't want to think too much, she was glad Sion was okay. As she opened the door, everyone looked at her.
" Nemma? " Sion's aura vanished, but a wide smile appeared on his face.
A tear ran down her face. She ran to him and hugged him; " I thought you were dead! ". Sion took a long heavy breath in; " I thought so too.. ".
Santiago turned around swiftly, making his coat fly around him; " Sons of Freedom is a very busy group.. It's been decades since all members gathered together for a meeting. We don't have time for family reunions, not right now.. Not to mention we are missing 4 members.. this is first time in history that this group reached such a low number of members-... ", Lori interrupted; " Yet, with Lucas, Baltazar and you Santi.. this group never had such a strong offensive line. ". Santiago waved his hand; " That's not true.. many were stronger than me.. I think.. ".
[ KNOCK KNOCK ]
Someone was knocking on the front door. Lori was the one that walked up to them; " Oh right.. I almost forgot-.. " he raised his arm and prepares to snap his fingers.
[ SNAP ]
He opened the door. Outside, 3 man stood silently. One of them was as tall and muscular as Santiago and Lori were. Other two humans were built athletic and fit, but they weren't especially tall or muscular.
First guy entered, he was tall and muscular. His hair was red and tied in a pony tail. His eyes were narrow and had a inch wide black line around them, his eye colour was red. His skin colour was a little bit darker than other people in the room. He was in no way less handsome than Santiago or Lori. Around his neck he had a long white scarf, it had several cuts and holes in it. His clothes were unusual at first. He was wearing partially unbuttoned blue coat that reached below his waist, underneath his coat he had a black tight shirt that outlined his muscles. Coat's sleeves were long and wide so his hands weren't even visible. Sleeve edges were made out of a single silver line. Around the neck area it was made out of white fur. His pants were white and tight, they still seem flexible enough to fight in them. On his feet were black boots that almost reached his knees. The man leaked some serious energy.
" Sion, this is Balthazar.. Otherwise known as the Marksman Son.. He's also known as the part of our offensive, battle squad; Lucas, him and me. Three of us are leading battles, usually. " Santiago said.
As he was talking, another man entered the house. He was shorter than everyone except Nemma. He was built fit, nothing more than that. His skin was slightly darker as well. But that man's appearance was strange.
Sion looked around himself to see if anyone else was as shocked as he is, and beside Nemma, no one actually was.
His hair was brown in colour, it was messy and uncut, reaching his shoulders. His pupils were light grey, but rest of his eye wasn't white, it was black in colour. He was wearing somewhat casual clothes; long sleeved, dark purple shirt and lightblue pants. He had no footwear. Around his neck there were 3 necklaces. One seemed to be made out of tiny light blue crystal orbs, second one was a regular silver necklace with a ruby attached to it, third one was a pure white chain necklace. On his hands white gloves could be seen.
Sion wasn't really focusing on his clothing though. He was switching between looking at his black and grey eyes and...
A pair of black wings he had on his back. They were made of large feathers that were black in colour.
" I said no wings Shadow. " Balthazar said without turning around.
" Oh shit.. right.. sorry " wings just disappeared in an instant.
Santiago walked up to them and gave both of them a strong handshake; " This other guy is called Shadow, real name Noire Blackwood. Beside his nickname Shadow, he's known as the Monster Son. This guy is resistant to curses, furthermore, he's partially a monster himself. Similarly to you, he absorbed and connected with an SS rarity item. He's no longer human, and probably the only monster I would never raise my blade at. " he tapped his shoulder.
" Those are some nice words coming from your mouth Santi " Shadow laughed a bit.
Balthazar leaned closer to Santiago; " Others couldn't come, too far away or too busy ". Santiago sighed; " I understand ".
Balthazar, Noire, Lori, Santiago, Sion and Nemma were now sitting. Sion was looking around; " Wasn't there one more? He was outside just now-.. ".
Balthazar looked at Santiago: " He remembered he had something other to do apparently... he said he will be back before we finish the meeting. "
Santiago nodded in confirmation. Sion was sitting, calmly... but something just clicked in him... he was sitting, on a chair. He jumped up and looked around- the entire room was organized and tidy. Crater was no more. Everything that happened moments ago was.. gone.
Sion looked at Lori; " H-how?! ". Lori looked back and winked, he knocked down a cup of tea that was on his table. He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, cup was filled with tea again, like I never got knocked down.
" Every object in this house has my mark. You see.. I can... Record and object, and save it as ' Moment A ', after that, no matter what happens I can return it back from ' Moment B ' to ' Moment A '... " Lori explained.
Sion was looking confused. He scratched his head and shook it. Lori sighed.
" I put a marker on a cup - you destroy the cup - I snap my fingers and cup isn't destroyed... I put a marker on Santiago - Santiago loses an arm - I snap my fingers and Santiago is whole again.. " he tried to simplify it.
Santiago shrugged his shoulders; " He can restore anything with his mark to it's previous condition ".
" OOOOoooooohhh~ " Sion finally understood.
Balthazar sighed and looked at Santiago; " Let's not lose anymore time.. start the meeting "
Santiago nodded; " Indeed.. I have gathered you all here for a simple reason. I'm glad everyone got here safely and quickly, some of you weren't even on this continent.. you were in the East Balthazar right? Nonetheless, today's topic is Sion. " he pointed at him.
" He possesses a Energy Rune, thus his energy is close to my own. His battle capabilities don't surpass 3rd Class even though his energy does. He shares the same goal as we do, and he came here to ask for our help. He traveled here from Ravensborrow-.. after he freed the harbor from the government.. ".
Everyone looked at Sion.
" How did you survive against the Shining General? " Noire yelled. Sion knew exactly who he was talking about. It was the massive muscular man he fought.
" I've stalled and ran away. " Sion said.
Everyone released a breath of relief. " That guy is no joke.. " Lori said. Santiago cracked his neck and continued.
" Our group is a very busy one.. Wherever and whenever government is involved, we get involved. We planned on freeing Ravensborrow soon, but that man would be a real nuisance. I can't believe you got out of there alive. " Noire pulled out a flask out of his shirt and drank.
Balthazar sighed; " We all know this man's goals. Only problem I have is his power. He might be a 3rd Class, but he ain't capable of defeating anyone from this room. Santiago is the only 2nd Class in this room, and I'm the closest one to him-... Including two of us, Sion isn't even capable of leaving a scratch on any member of Sons of Freedom. I am against joining forces with him. ".
Noire shrugged his shoulders; " His energy is great indeed... but as Balthazar said, he's just not powerful enough for me to rely on him in battle... OR outside of it-.. I am against joining forces with him. ".
Lori scratched his nose; " I think... this boy has a lot of potential.. I have already told everyone about your powers and capabilities, Santiago and I even provoked him to see to what extent he is able to use them.. I think that, one day... he will become a great asset to our team... unfortunately, that day isn't here yet.. I will let Santiago decide in my stead... "
Sion gulped. He felt as if he was in a court.
Santiago stood up and looked at all members; " This boy is a bearer of a Rune.. an SS tier item. Try to remember my enrollment to this group. You should all remember that just 4 years ago, I was a lowly 3rd Class.. when I got here, I was an outsider and no one wanted me to associate with you. Yet, I saved YOUR village countless times, fought battles while carrying YOUR symbol, shed blood with YOUR name on my back... no one hesitates in calling me a Son now.. " he looked at Sion; " This man saved the Ravensborrow harbor... He freed millions of people... in another words, millions of people we refused to save even though we dedicated our lives in doing so. We were scared, this guy wasn't. Situation right now is telling us that he has bigger balls than anyone in our group. And I ain't fine with that.. That's why I say we should join forces with him and see to what extent does his courage reach.
Everyone was silent. This meant Lori's voice was added in favor along with Santiago's. It was now 2 against 2.
" Damn Santi that was a good speech " Noire said with his arms crossed. He shrugged his shoulders again; " Sure, why not... I am interested in seeing just how powerful his SS tier item is.. I change my vote, I'm in favor. "
[ KNOCK KNOCK ]
Someone was knocking again. No one stood up to open them, because the man behind them entered on his own. Man with black hair entered. His hair reached his waist and it was messy. His eyes were black as well and he had eye bags. The man looked like he didn't sleep for months, maybe even years. He had a white scarf around his neck and it covered his face below his nose. He was wearing a black robe that was too big for him so it reached his knees, robe was decorated with a yellow star on his chest ' Sons of Freedom ' was written underneath it, on his shoulders and torso area, it had several chains hanging down. His pants where black just as his boots were. His fingernails were painted black. On his right hand there was a letter ' X ' tattooed. His posture was bad, he was bent forward so he appeared shorter than he really was.
The man was walking slowly, almost dragging his feet on the ground.
Noire looked at him and smiled; " How about you speed it up man? ". The man looked at him with his deep, black eyes. Even though he wasn't looking at him, Sion felt fear. He was seriously shaking, goosebumps were present as well. The man was standing still looking at Noire. Room seemed to get darker and candles flickered.
*cough* *cough*
Lori coughed and stood up; " This man is called Yve Blackwood, Noire's younger brother.. otherwise known as the Copy Son.. he has an... odd personality, so just don't piss him off and everything should be fine... "
" S-s-should?! " Sion yelled. All of the members were certainly powerhouses. Sion felt that anyone could wipe the floor with him without breaking a sweat despite his energy amounts.
Yve started to turn his head in Sion's direction, it lead to several cracking sounds from his neck. He stared at him; " I... am.... in favor... of... joining forces... with... him... ". He walked up to the table and sat down on an empty chair.
Nemma was silent, she was sweating from the intense energy of everyone in the room.
Santiago opened his arms wide; " It is decided then... Lori, Balthazar, Noire, Yve and myself all agree to joining your side. This group had 13 members; Emanuel, Rod and Hektor are dead.. Lucas is in no state to vote and four of our members didn't come here today. That means that out of 9 remaining Sons that are in a state to vote, you received 5 votes. "
Sion opened his mouth slightly and smiled at Nemma. She was looking excited.
Santiago crossed his arms; " Congratulations, you're our associate from now on.. Don't disappoint us... "