Audric followed the professor, whose name was Cyrus, to a house on the outside of the town of Fent. While it wasn't quite considered the slums, it also couldn't be considered prosperous. Then again, nothing in Fent COULD be considered prosperous. Although he couldn't see the house, judging from the echo of his footsteps it couldn't be larger than three rooms.
"My associates have yet to arrive. We will wait here for them." Cyrus said.
Although Audric was used to silence, this moment felt particularly tense. He had no idea what to expect, either from the older man's associates or the 'conversation' they were about to have. However, from the short exchange he'd had with Cyrus on the way there, it sounded like these associates were already familiar with himself, which, in turn, meant he'd met at least some of them before. This brought him at least a little comfort.
After what seemed like hours of silence, the door opened, and the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through Audric's ears. If he wasn't mistaken, it was followed by a much lighter pair of footsteps, meaning two people had just entered the house.
He heard a muffled conversation through the wall.
"Is the kid here?" A familiar voice asked.
"Indeed. He's currently waiting in the dining room." Said Cyrus.
"By himself?!" Asked a third voice, slightly angry.
"Uhm… Yes." Cyrus again.
He heard the footsteps again, although they seemed somewhat… anxious? The door to the room he was in opened very quickly, and he was greeted with the familiar sound of the third voice.
"Audric, sweetie, are you OK? Cyrus didn't bully you, did he?"
"No, Aunt Gina, I'm fine…" he said.
Gina Balthazar and her husband, Badric Balthazar, also known as 'Aunt Gina and Uncle Taz', had been taking care of him since he was two. Prior to that, he had been in an orphanage, but it closed down due to monetary issues. The couple took pity on him and decided to raise him as their own.
From what he knew of the two, Uncle Taz was the best blacksmith in town, and Aunt Gina was an acupuncturist. Together, they should have made enough money to make it out of the slums… if it wasn't for their enormous appetites. The pair could finish off a meal for eight people and call it a snack. Sometimes, Audric wondered if that was the reason that they got married. The sound of his uncle's footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
"How ya doin', kid?" he asked.
"I am currently wondering why you all are here…" Audric responded uncertainly.
"Well, we decided it would be best to have a 'family meeting' of sorts, to help you determine your future path, and fill you in on what you don't already know. If you hadn't already guessed, we've been… keeping quite a lot from you. Both on your parents' request, and of our own discretion."
This wasn't a small surprise to Audric, though he wasn't angry. He knew what his aunt and uncle had done for him, and he would be forever grateful. He was, nevertheless, eager to hear about the truth behind his birth, his parents, and why he was left behind. A growing feeling in his gut told him that his blindness may be related to this mystery as well.
"All will be revealed in time, Audric… but we are still waiting on two more. Your Aunt Gina's senior sister and my junior brother have yet to arrive."
"Have I met them before?" asked Audric.
"You have met my senior sister before, but not Taz' junior brother. My senior sister is the apothecary, Miss Agatha." Aunt Gina said.
Audric had fond memories of Miss Agatha. She was a skilled apothecary and potion-maker, as well as the town's best doctor. She was kind and gentle, and whenever Audric had scrapes or bruises, she would fix them for him free of charge. She was usually quite punctual, however, her shop and home were located in the city center, so it made sense why she hadn't yet arrived.
"My junior brother is the librarian at city hall, so it's no surprise you haven't met him yet. He has a tendency to get lost in his research, so him being late is a… fairly regular occurrence." Said his uncle.
"And where does Sir Cyrus place in this mess?" asked Audric.
"He is my senior brother." Said Uncle Taz.
"All of us are your parents' closest aides and retainers. They entrusted you to us to keep you safe until it was time for you to go out on your own journey." Cyrus interjected.
"And drop the honorifics. Cyrus will do just fine. Anyway, Badric, Jasper, and I are your father's subordinates. We met in his family's sect, and he knighted us as his retainers. Agatha and Gina are your mother's retainers."
"We have cooperated for the last six years to ensure that nothing untoward would happen to you until your parents could come and get you. Unfortunately, three years ago, we got a message from your parents that said we would need to operate autonomously until further notice." Cyrus finished.
"One thing you should know is that your mother and father are members of opposing clans. The concept might be a little vague to you now, but imagine a family that covers an entire system, and another family that covers an entire system, and they both hate each other. Your father, the scion of his clan, and your mother, the scion of her clan, both the most talented in their generation, fell in love and had you in secret."
"To keep you from being harmed by their families' perpetual state of conflict, they entrusted you to us and we took you to this far away backwater until they could take the mantle of their clans and ensure you had a safe place to grow up." Uncle Taz finished.
Audric could more or less work out what had happened at this point. A conflict of that size would most definitely prove harmful to a blind baby, even more so one that was an enemy to both sides. If his parents hadn't been able to retrieve him by now, it likely meant that whatever process they had to go through to become the leaders of their clans had likely hit obstacles, and it didn't sound like these obstacles were small.
"Does my lineage have something to do with my eyes?" Audric asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Sharp as ever, kid. To keep all of us safe and undercover, Gina put seals on our mana cores to prevent any of the clans' trackers from finding us. Unfortunately, that also meant that our powers are mostly sealed. We are currently operating at around two percent of our actual strength, maximum. However, it's a little different for you."
"Your seal targets your bloodline abilities, which means your physique, which comes from your father, and your mutated mana core, which comes from your mother. The reason this renders you blind is because-"
At this moment, the front door slammed open.
"Sorry I'm late!" A new voice yelled.
"Dammit, Jasper, I was at the best part!" yelled his uncle.
"Oh, sorry. Anyway, I brought Agatha with me! That means, we're all here, right?"
"Yes…"
"Great! I'll start unsealing the kid's physique then! I found a Realm earlier that should let us avoid the Manifestation and the unique mana signature from his mana core, but we can do the eyes here."
Audric was a bit lost when it came to his uncle's junior brother, Jasper. He talked very fast and didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to anyone but himself.
"A Manifestation occurs when an entity with a powerful physique or unique trait is born. Because you were sealed prior to your birth, the Manifestation has been on hold for six years. We will have to enter the Realm, a pocket dimension similar to a Gate, in order to prevent the Manifestation from attracting the attention of the entire planet." Said Cyrus, reverting back to his usual lecturer persona.
After his explanation, a brief conversation ensued involving the statistics of the Realm that they were headed to, most of which went over Audric's head, and then all six people gathered around Audric to help unseal him.
"This shouldn't hurt at all, sweetie. Just take a deep breath in, and let your body relax." Said Agatha.
Audric did as he was told. He felt a slight warmth in his chest, but not like fire… more like the feeling of drinking soup when its still a bit too hot. It was oddly comforting. Suddenly he heard a loud popping sound, and his senses had to take a second to adjust.
"What… is this?" He asked.
"You've had it hard, kid. Congratulations on taking your first step on the path of cultivation. You now have the power to see everything."