"One of the strongest Braves of our time and one of the twelve Elders. The First Elder, the Rat, Monica Mystica." Ethan said. "She might know something."
"When can we meet her?" Williams asked.
"I'll phone her and ask." He said. "Knowing her if she hears about Arata's ability she'll want to see him immediately."
"Thanks." William said.
While we wait, Andrew hands me a melon bread and places a glass of orange juice on the table.
"Eat up, you need to get your strength back up." He says and I nod.
"Good news, she said she's free this weekend." Ethan said.
"Thanks a lot for helping and sorry for troubling you." I said and bowed my head.
"Why are you apologizing?" Ethan asked. "It's what friends are for."
I couldn't help but smile and suddenly I feel dizzy, I close my eyes and open them again and see something, someone being hit with a whip repeatedly. Is it... Ethan? The scene is so gruesome that I turn my eyes and open them only to lose balance.
"Arata! Oi, you okay?!" Ethan catches me in time and hugs me. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm... fine." I answered as I gripped his wrist and I see a multiple scars.
"Rest up for a bit." He smiles and I nod.
I lie back down after finishing the melon bread, I fall into sleep and when I open my eyes I see Ethan, hugging his knees as he sits down in a prison cell. There are some men in masks that are laughing and shouting something at him.
"Do you hear us!! You're just a tool!!" The voices shouted. "You a tool for us!! Never forget that!!"
"I'm a tool." Ethan repeated. "A shield..."
I jump awake from the many tortures they do to Ethan and find myself hugging my knees. I immediately seek out William's embrace only to find him missing. Zhen is here so I cuddle up in his embrace and he hugs me and calms me down.
"Had a bad dream?" He asks and I nodded my head. "Wanna talk about it?"
I shake my head and my stomach growls. I blush a bit in embarrassment and Zhen tells me to wait a little longer since breakfast isn't ready yet.
After dinner, I take a bath and lie down on my bed. Many more dreams follow, all about Ethan's torture and brainwash of him being a sheild.
I wake up from the nightmares multiple times and seek out William's embrace each time so much that he decides to sleep with me in my bed like when we first became brothers.
The last nightmare shows me Ethan being tortured repeatedly that he doesn't feel any pain anymore. I jump awake and cuddle up in William's embrace despite it being already seven in the morning. I hug him tightly, not wanting to let go of the warmth he gives off.
A week passes by, during that time I learn more about Ethan from him and the others. Even among Braves he is actually either looked up to or looked down on. Mostly due to the fact that the Brave of Endurance is actually a Brave that lacks the ability for direct combat, instead it specializes in defense. Ethan also doesn't see himself as much nor gives himself much importance.
When we leave to meet Ms. Monica, I sit next to him in the car.
"Hey Arata, are you getting enough sleep lately?" Zhen asked. "Youre face looks a bit pale."
"Yeah. I'm sleeping much better than a few nights ago." I answered.
As we all chat about things I suddenly get a vision, the car getting hit by another atvthe bext intersection.
"Stop the car!!" I exclaimed so loudly that the driver stopped.
"Ouch! Why did you stop?" Alexis asked.
Just then an explosion is heard at the intersection and we all get out and see a huge truck on fire at the intersection.
Just then, another vision pops up and I hastily grab Alexis.
"Quick, form a barrier and trap the truck inside!" I hastily exclaimed.
"There might be a person inside, I'll go and check." Ethan said but I stopped him.
"There's no one tehre, and in a minute or two that thing will explode and kille everyone here, Alexis, hurry." I told him.
"Alistar, help me out." He answered.
"On three. One, two, three!" Alistar counted and they created a barrier around the truck. "What now?"
"Andrew, send it as high into the sky as you can." I said and he nodded.
"High Rise!" He said winds blew so hard they dragged the truck high into the sky.
"Brace yourselves!" I said and in the next instant the truck exploded high in the sky.
The barrier held out but everything inside was destroyed and a when the barrier landed we saw what remained. Just bits of large metal chucks and the like.
Not long after the police officers arrive and with them is a woman with sleek black hair, black eyes and white skin dressed in a suit.
"Monica, over here." Ethan called out to her.
"Ethan, I just heard from the police." She said as she came closer. "Thank goodness you were here."
"It's Arata you should thank." Andrew said. "He was the one who saw what was about to happen."
"I see. This boy is the one who wields the strabge ability you said?" She turned to Ethan who nodded. "Follow me to my lab, we can talk more there."
We rode the car for thirty minutes and arrive to a large building which seems like a cross between a hospital and a school.
"This way." She said.
She lead us down the halls to a lab like room where she had us sit down so we could talk.
We told her everything we knew so far and she listened and then after we finish telling her about my ability, she takes a minute to ingest it then opens her mouth to speak.
"It is likely that Arata isn't from our World. His probably from one from the other worlds. Though I can't say for certainty, his power isn't something of humans from this world. His ability to draw Vi is already unbelievable." She said. "Braves use Vi to fight Chimeras. It is the power source of the Braves They draw power from the space between our worlds to bend the laws of logic and nature. Though Vi itself is the power source for all Braves, the amount and strength of Vi a Brave can take in varies."
"So, Arata can absord higher amounts of Vi than most people?" William asked.
"Yes. The amount of Vi a person in our world can draw is at the average amount of 500 Vi. The lowest amount is around 100 Vi with the highest at 550 Vi." She said and set down a clip board on the table. "Now. Can you take a guess how much Vi Arata can process?"
"Tell us." Liam said.
"5000 Vi. That's why he can do extraordinary things like see the future. It's not uncommon for a person to be able to see the past or future at all." She said. "All Braves have the ability to notice things around them. There are abilities that go beyond mere senses and predict the future or unravel the past. Clairvoyance."
"What about our Titles?" Liam asked.
"Right now, I can't say anything certainty but... it's likely that Arata has shared the amount of Vi he has processed with you." She said. "Causing the rise in your strength and ability. But I don't know about the sudden change in titles."
"Then we won't be able to learn my power at all?" I asked.
"Not really. I can do an Appraisal." She said.
"Please." I said.
"Here goes. Appraisal." She touched my back and we waited.
"Well?" Ethan asked.
"I can't find anything." She answered. "The Title is Brave of the Sacred Flower but that's all I know. I can't appraise anything more than that."
"What do we do now?" William asked.
"Hmm... I'll do a bit more research so you kids rest up. I'll contact you if I find anything." She says and we thank her.
She sees us off but just as we're leaving she calls me back and I orders the others to not listen to what she's about to tell me.
"This is just between us but, it's possible that you're Brave Title has something to do with your lost memories." She says. "If you can, try to remember anything and everything you can about the past. Your lost memories nay just be the key we need."
"Thank you." I thanked her and she smiled.
As we head home, I begin to eonder who I am in the past. What kind of life I had, who I was close to. This questions are still buzzing in my head by the time we get back. All the answers, are in my lost memories.