"You involved a Yukimura?" Ragnar says while seated staring out the window next to his bedridden wife.
"Yes father and I ask for your forgiveness for that and also being unable to retrieve the son of solomons body."
Ragnar raises his hands and balls his hand into a fist causing Erik to slowly begin being crushed against the ground followed by a loud deep humming sound reverberating in the air.
"The Yukimuras are like my family... I should kill you for taking Hirkoi's family hostage... what compelled you to go after them?" Ragnar says in a low monotone voice.
" Seraphina.... a-and.. Clive... are taking too long... I couldn't wait.... a-any longer... while mother... was dying." Erik says beginning to cough up blood from the force of this crushing sensation being inflicted on him by his father.
Ragnar drops his hand and the gravitational force being put on Erik ceases, Erik tries to compose himself while coughing up blood.
"Perhaps you're right,but don't get the wrong idea young man. You will still be punished for what you've done to his family, clean yourself up." Ragnar says throwing a cloth at Erik.
"Where are you going?" Erik asks turning around.
"I'm taking your mother to a med pod outside the city, your siblings will arrive shortly." Ragnar says walking out of the room as a few state soldiers walk in to push his wifes bed outside of the room.
Meanwhile...
Ajax is out looking through a market with Aliyah for some food, they shop for nearly an hour and then finally sit down at a nearby bench to rest.
"I don't mean to get up all in your business but what caused the scar on your face?" Ajax asks looking over at her.
"..." Aliyah looks away nervously.
"I uh sorry sometimes I just have no filter." Ajax says nervously chuckling.
"My sister." She says facing forward.
"Your...sister?" Ajax says looking at her concerned.
"She...threw boiling water at... me.. when.. I was eight." Aliyah says looking straight ahead.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Ajax says trying to console her.
"Look I never was in anyway able to repay you for letting me burden you with all my problems, soo if it helps you can burden me until I can properly repay you." Ajax says smiling at Aliyah.
Aliyah looks at him and slightly smiles back.
"Ajax you..." Aliyah is interrupted by the sound of a vase shattering nearby.
"Ugh look what you did asshole!" A blonde haired girl says shouting at a group of men crowding her.
"Never thought a noble would be dumb enough to walk around here alone." One of them says making the others chuckle.
"Listen bitch drop your belongings and get outta here otherwise things are gonna get alot more rough for you." One of the other four men says as they collectively begin to close in on her, a small ball of light begins to flicker around the girls hand but suddenly the man infront of the girl is kicked in the crotch by Aliyah.
The man standing behind the girl gets his pants torn off by Ajax who screams out to gain everyones attention.
"THIS MAN IS TRYNA FLASH CHILDREN!" Ajax screams out as people around the market begin to throw food and other sorts of objects at the man who begins to run away, the other two immediately run off out of fear of association.
"I- I had that." The blonde haired girl says in frustration.
" I'm sure you did but anyways we're off." Ajax says as he attempts to walk away.
"Wait... I'm prohibited by my family to use my augment.. I nearly got in trouble until you came. Could you guard me until I reach the outside of this town?" The girl says while looking away.
" um yeah.. you think Lennox will mind?" Ajax says turning to Aliyah. She looks away shrugging.
A few minutes pass and their walking together, an awkward silence hangs around them.
"Umm I never caught your name." The blonde haired girl asks.
"My names Aj- uhh I mean Sam and you?"
"My name is Seraphina.. oh and what's yours?" Seraphina asks looking at Aliyah.
Aliyah simply turns around and shoots her a dirty look making seraphina nervously look away chuckling.
" Anyways what are you doing hanging around this area? Especially without any of your guards, shouldn't you be protected since you're a noble?" Ajax says looking at the sun setting on the horizon.
" I was studying abroad not too long ago, my personal guard had to return here under my father's orders. And I was recently called over too." Seraphina says looking down.
"Really? What would warrant your studies
Being stopped?" Ajax asks curious.
"My mother fell ill not too long ago.. just recently.. she collapsed and hasn't awoken since." Seraphine responds.
"My apologies I hope your mother recovers." Ajax says taken aback.
"Here's far enough... thank you for helping me out back there safe travels." Seraphina says bluntly before walking off.
Nearly thirty minutes later Seraphina arrives in the center of the capital of Aurellia. She finally is escorted by a few state soldiers to a large mansion on a hill and runs into a scruffy pale skinned man around her age.
"Ugh you couldn't even clean yourself up?" She says scrunching her face at the scruffy man.
"Nice to see ya too sis." The scruffy man says sarcastically.
They both enter the mansion and approached by Erik.
"What took you soo long?" Erik asks crossing his arms.
"I speak for both of us when I say we don't give a shit what you have to say, wheres father?" Seraphina says bluntly.
"He's taken mother to a med pod outside the city." Erik responds.
"Soo then what are we here for then huh? Mom and dad ain't here soo why am I being called over?" The scruffy man standing besides Seraphina says.
"We've been ordered to retrieve the cure for mother." Erik says attaching his blades.
"The cure? What are you talking about?" Seraphina asks.
"There's a remaining member of the solomon family in the kingdom. We'll retrieve them and extract their healing augment and that'll be all." Erik says sitting back down.
"Tsk whatever...when do we start?" The man standing beside Seraphina says.
"We go now, head out to the hellicarrier in the back." Erik says as they both walk out.
"Oh and Clive.... this may sound stupid but you ever tried reaching out to Kane?" Erik says walking up to the dishelved man.
"You already know the answer to that give it up." Clive says scoffing.
A few hours later...
Lennox is in his room staring at a crumpled old photo in his hand. Suddenly he hears a knock on the door.
"Oh sorry I... didn't mean to rush in... before hearing you say come in." Aliyah says walking in the room.
"You kids took your time huh anything suspicious happen?" Lennox asks standing up.
"There.. was a augmented noble... in the Midlands." Aliyah responds.
"Huh... what did they look like?"
"Blonde hair.. blue eyes... white... late teens...full caramel coloured clothing."
"It could be a Blackthorne...go grab Ajax & Kazuki."
Meanwhile Kazuki is running through the woods with his blade at the ready. He finally arrives near the location where one of his shadowmen informed him of activity, appearing to be an abandoned town.
Kazuki crouching still behind the bushes scans the area looking for any kind of movement when suddenly a ball of light emerges from the abandoned town. It appears small but it suddenly gains tremendous size and let's out a blinding flash completely illuminating the entire forrest.
Suddenly another ball of light is thrown at him from the abandoned town, Kazuki unable to use his shadow augment due to the blinding light immediately jumps down from the hill he's on and immediately makes his way to the abandoned town.
"Platinum art: Thunder spear."
Erik instantly charges at Kazuki with his blade immediately impaling him through the chest.