It was the morning after Amon had revealed his ten-year-old secret of once being a Sicarius. After what had been a somewhat long night, Amon had allowed Avic and the others to return home, instructing them to return to the Room Of Proditio at the crack of dawn.
Amon waited patiently alongside Eliisabet and Custos inside the Room Of Proditio. The only one that was missing was Avic. Amon folded his arms, tapping his finger away on the side of his arm. His eyes were sealed shut and impatience was written all over his face.
On the other hand, Custos slumped himself against the wall to relax while Eliisabet played with a small golden eagle-shaped necklace around her neck. They too were becoming quite impatient.
"Sigh... Where's Avic? He should have been here over thirty minutes ago..." Murmured Custos.
"He probably overslept again..." Answered Eliisabet.
"And just when you thought he was finally changing for the better..."
"Well, it's either that or maybe he's stuck upstairs unable to activate the secret switch to let himself down here."
"He knows how to open and close the secret pathway," interjected Amon. "I showed all of you how to do it last night so I doubt that's the issue."
"Well, we can only wait and see then, I guess..."
Just then, footsteps echoed through the room. Everyone turned their eyes toward the door as it slid open in response to an incoming presence. This was when the silhouette of a surprisingly handsome figure came into view. Their eyes broadened and their faces were filled with disbelief. Eliisabet's face immediately became bright red as if she was a color-changing chameleon. No one could believe their eyes.
"Avic..? Is that... you..?" Queried Eliisabet timidly.
"Am I that unrecognizable..?" He answered.
"No... No..! It's not that..! I just never expected you to look so... to look so... uhhh..."
"To look so uhhh? Uhhh? Uhhhgly? Wait! Are you saying that I look ugly?!!"
"I think what she's trying to say is personable... Or maybe even princely," clarified Custos.
Avic had changed his look considerably making himself a lot more attractive. His long droopy hair had now been perfected into shorter sleeker black hair combed neatly to the back like that of a handsome prince. His golden eyes sparkled admirably as if they had just finished absorbing the sun and even his clothes looked brand new. He looked as if he had just spent a million pecunia to remodel himself.
"It's been so long since I've seen your face so clearly. I believe the last time you cut your hair was four years ago," smiled Amon.
Avic scratched his head bashfully and averted his eyes. The gazes from everyone were making him a little uncomfortable.
"It's not such a big deal... I decided to change my look since this will be a new chapter of my life and all. But it makes me feel awkward when you're all just staring at me as if I just stepped out of a different dimension..."
Amon laughed, "Well, Avic's right. We're not here to admire him. We're here because you want to become Sicarius. So let's begin."
Everyone then quickly gathered around as they prepared to listen to Amon. They still had a lot to learn before they could call themselves Sicarius.
"Hey, Mister Amon," suddenly called Eliisabet. "Before we begin, I was a little curious about something."
"What's that?"
"If you were once a Sicarius, why didn't you stop the fight between Bolton and Avic..? I mean, I'm sure you're probably not as strong as you used to be but even so, I'm sure you could have done something to help him..."
"Avic chose to start that fight, Eliisabet. I warned him more than once to keep his composure. It was when he lost control that I realized that I needed to stop protecting him and let him face the consequences of his actions without my help. You might find it a little harsh but because of that fight, he was able to look into himself and find something new."
Eliisabet didn't completely understand what Amon meant but she decided not to pursue the topic. For some reason, no matter how she looked at it, it made no sense for Amon to allow Avic to have a fight that could have easily ended his life. It was going much too far.
"The Old Geezer's right, Eliisabet," supported Avic. "Don't worry about it. Because if it weren't for Bolton, I wouldn't have found a way to pursue my goals..!"
"Okay, I understand..." She lied.
"In that case, the first stage of your training will be learning how to control Hemo Energy," Continued Amon. "As I'm sure you all know, all living creatures contain Hemo Energy. It makes up the very essence of our souls. It is also the energy used to manipulate Bloodline Traits to create Bloodline Arts."
"Well, we all know how to manipulate our Bloodline Traits with the use of Hemo Energy. So can't we just skip that?" Queried Avic.
"No, Avic. There are no shortcuts when it comes to learning how to become a Sicarius. As a Sicarius, you need to learn how to use Hemo Energy to manipulate your Bloodline Traits to create your Bloodline Arts or attacks if you prefer. Manipulating Bloodline Traits into attacks is much more difficult than using them to do basic chores. For example, if you have an Affinity Of Fire, it may be fairly easy for you to ignite a small fire for cooking by utilizing your Hemo Energy. But if you were to try to use that Fire Affinity to create an attack, it would require a lot more Hemo Energy. The amount of Hemo Energy you can use is directly proportional to your control."
"Eh? Is directly to what now?"
Custos sighed, "What he means, Avic, is that the amount of Hemo Energy you can use is dependent on how much Hemo Energy you can control."
"Precisely," continued Amon. "If your Hemo Control is low, you should never attempt to create an attack that requires more Hemo Energy than you can manage. This is the most important rule when creating attacks with your Bloodline Traits."
"Then what happens if we try to use a Bloodline Art that requires more Hemo Energy than we can control..?" Asked Eliisabet.
Amon's face immediately grew darker and a serious look appeared in his eyes. This sent a cold chill running down Eliisabet's spine.
"If you try to force a Bloodline Art then not only will it not work but there's a 50% chance that the attack will backfire, seriously injuring you and in some cases even kill you."
Eliisabet shuddered, "I... see..."
"But Old Geezer, you saw my fight with Bolton, didn't you? I used a Bloodline Art which means that my control is pretty good!" Boasted Avic.
"I won't deny that it was impressive for someone at your level but for a Sicarius, that's child's play and I can tell you why. Firstly, all you did was create a field of ice that had sharp icicles. That's not anything spectacular. Anyone can do something similar with a little training. Secondly, even though that Sicarius you fought suffered a few scratches from your attack, that was only because he was holding back. I'm sure of this because the Bloodline Art he used was called a Lightning Spear. An attack like that requires the user to sharpen the tip of their fingers with lightning using Hemo Energy which allows them to pierce even steel like butter. However, instead of doing this, that Sicarius hit you with a punch, sparing your life."
Avic couldn't deny Amon's points. It was also painfully clear to him since his fight with Bolton that the Sicarius was never trying to kill him. He didn't know why this was the case but it did prove the massive gap in strength.
Amon then turned around and moved towards a small hole in the wall to their right. Strangely, he then shoved his hand into the hole before a bright red glow appeared.
"If you want to create stronger Bloodline Arts then you'll have to increase your Hemo Control. That's the first step to becoming stronger!"
Just then, clouds of thick red Hemo Energy began to form from thin air. They swirled higher and higher as if a massive tornado was forming and a strong gust pushed against Avic and the others. Finally, the swirling clouds took the shape of three massive humanoid figures. They had glowing red eyes and their body was the color and texture of dried blood. Their skin was like goo, running down their bodies by the call of gravity in a variety of small lumps and waves. This was when Amon gave a spine-chilling warning.
"If you wish to increase your Hemo Control then you'll have to absorb these monsters created from raw Hemo Energy. However, be warned that failure to do so could lead to your death! This is what it means to be a Sicarius!"