When Gin had sent Ciel out, he had hoped that a few hours of freedom would clear his son’s head. His eldest son had been distracted and preoccupied, leading to mistakes and inattention in his work; which was unlike him. His and Scarlet’s questions had been brushed off and he did not give them a straight answer. If Dawn had been here, he could have sent her to dig the secret from him; but she was now in stasis, resting and strengthening her soul before she could rebuild her body. They didn’t tell the children that she was still alive though. It was better to let them feel a short pain and get over it than to fester with hope only to have it destroyed. He and Scarlet could bear that burden alone; maybe in the future, when things were better, they would let the children know, not now. But he knew that the loss of his elder sister had changed Ciel, that he had been a little more restless and rebellious.
He sighed; he was glad that his son was opening up after the loss and that his adventurous spirit had been sparked. If Ciel wanted to leave the valley to see the world, Gin would make it happen; even if he had to get on his knees and beg his father-in-law. He wanted his children to see the world, to experience the good, the bad and learn from them; just like he had centuries ago, and perhaps find a goal or companion for themselves. He had found his goal and his love and he wanted his children to do the same. His reserved son had always seemed content staying by his and Scarlet’s side, entertaining guests and listening to their stories without ever having the urge to see them for himself. Maybe they had made life far too easy for him that he was complacent to stay where he was. So when his son snuck out, he was actually very happy; but he had to pretend to be annoyed and reprimand him, to ensure that he wasn’t too reckless and to ensure that he himself did not seem out of character.
But he had been worried about his drastic change recently. He had feigned ignorance and let Ciel off the last time he slipped out but his son had not returned to his usual cheery self. He always seemed lost in thought and he was sure he had seen him blush. Was his son finally feeling the first blooms of romance? That was a complicated feeling for Gin; he was happy that his son was starting to learn about love but what sort of maiden was she? She definitely wasn’t a patron of the club or Ciel’s reaction wouldn’t have been so sudden and his change had happened after he had snuck out. Now Gin was worried that his son had fallen for a mortal. The pain of losing his beloved might a too big a blow if his heart was not strong. And to this day, he wasn’t sure how strong his eldest son was. He always looked delicate, both in body and mind. There was only so much he and Scarlet can do for his children; there would be some burdens they would have to bear themselves. All he hoped was that they as parents had prepared them well and that they would be able to handle whatever was thrown at them.
He looked at the clock and frowned. It had been six hours since Ciel left. He should have been back by now. He got up from his desk and went to the lounge, hoping to see him there; that he had forgotten to report that he was back. Scarlet was talking to some of the security personnel, her face twisted with worry.
“What’s wrong?” he asked his wife as he approached.
“Ciel’s not back yet. His feather turned to ash…” there were tears of worry and fear in Scarlet’s eyes now, as she clutched Gin’s arm.
Gin felt his heart clench. Not now. Not after they had just lost Dawn… he gave Scarlet a reassuring hug and stroked her back. “He might still be alive. I’ll go look for him myself.”
“Be careful…”
Gin nodded and walked out the east exit. The scenery that greeted him was that of a pine forest surrounded by snow-capped mountains in the horizon. He transformed into his beast form; a silver dragon with stormy grey eyes. With a roar, he rose into the air and traced his son using his bloodline. He could feel faint fluctuations from it and his tense heart unclenched. At the very least, his son was alive. Soaring high in the sky, hidden away by the clouds, Gin could appreciate the restlessness that his two elder children felt being locked away in Time Valley; but unless they could bend Scarlet’s rigid, stubborn father, they would either be locked away in the valley or expelled and exiled. Hopefully one day they could persuade him…
Gin frowned again as he neared where his son was, the landscape was utterly destroyed and Gin could feel the faint pulse of electricity in the air, and smell a coppery tang. Someone had been forced to endure lightning tribulation here; could it be that Ciel had been unlucky and stumbled upon it and was caught in the tribulation as well? He flew down, transforming into his human form as he landed. He saw the corpse of a lesser Dìlóng, its body covered in multiple slashes in the distance. The landscape was torn apart by rubble, broken trees and lightning strikes; Gin could see what used to be a waterfall and pool buried under rocks and debris. He could smell blood from the corpse, along with smoke and the char of scorched earth. He frowned, sensing the presence of a living being. Could it be Ciel? He hurried in the direction of that presence and stopped abruptly, shocked by what he saw.
A blonde man was sitting in a crater, clutching Ciel in his arms. The crater seemed to have been caused by a terrible impact and the heat and smell from the earth told him that this was where most of the lightning had struck. He wanted to go to his son immediately but the man holding Ciel made him wary; he had been struck multiple times by lightning, till the clothes he had worn were burnt to ashes but he was still fine. In fact, Gin could see that he had taken the brunt of the lightning strikes, protecting Ciel with his body, if those visibly healing burn scars on his back were any indication. What frightened Gin the most was the look on that man’s face. It was the dead look of a man who had given up hope.
He recognized the man, of course; George the dragon slayer. His name and description had been a hot topic amongst his patrons, dragon or otherwise. It had caused so much fear that he had to request that patrons not openly spread his name and stories so as not to cause further panic and unease amongst the mythical community. But he had kept an eye on the events, entrusting certain mercenaries and bounty hunters to track him down. Now that man was before him, holding his son like a precious treasure.
He went closer but George didn’t seem to notice. He had his eyes on Ciel, despair etched on his face. He was channelling spiritual energy to Ciel; it was crude and clumsy and most of the energy did not reach Ciel. But whatever did was what was keeping Ciel alive; his son was unconscious, face pale with a line of blood trailing down his lips. He wasn’t sure if there were any other injuries; not until he went closer. Whatever the reason, George had kept Ciel alive and Gin was grateful. He edged closer again and George finally noticed him. He held Ciel tighter, like a child refusing to relinquish his favourite toy. Gin caught sight of his back and inhaled, his heart cold. Ciel’s robes too did not survive the aftermath of the tribulation and his naked back was raw and bloody. There was no trace of intact skin that Gin could see and some parts of his wounds were so deep, it ran right to the bone. He understood why Ciel’s feather had turned to ash now; his phoenix bloodline was only manifested in his wings; judging by the injuries on his back, he most likely lost his wings. Ciel may no longer have any phoenix abilities.
What dragon and phoenix couple? It was because of their clashing bloodlines that Gin and Scarlet had so much difficulties conceiving their beloved children. Dawn had a mostly dragon bloodline which nearly killed Scarlet. With Ciel, they managed to tone Gin’s bloodline down for an easier birth; so while he looked like his father, he was mostly of the phoenix bloodline. Now that he had lost his wings, Gin wasn’t sure how much magic his son had. This was all secondary, however, the important thing was to make sure that he was alive and heal his injuries.
“Can you give him back to me?” Gin asked soothingly, as if he were calming an injured beast.
George’s response was to bring the injured Ciel closer to him, as if wishing to meld their bodies together, his eyes defiant. This was not working… even if George was injured, he was still a powerful warrior who slew dragons as if he were butchering chickens. Gin was at a loss on what to do. Then he saw the seal glowing on the man’s scar and Gin paled. It was the seal of life and death. He could guess why Ciel had used it and how desperate he had been but the seal had evolved. Instead of the usual seal of life and death, which was normally a master servant contract, the seal on George was a lover’s seal of life and death.
Like with all contracts, if the person casting the seal was the weaker, the seal would rebound, causing injuries on the person casting it. A stronger person who would willingly submit himself to the seal of a weaker person meant that they had feelings for the other and thus did not mind binding their lives together; to live the rest of their lives together and to die at the same time. Other feelings, such as loyalty or gratitude could also play a part in accepting the seal but nothing was as whimsical as love, hence the romantic name. Now, even if Gin wanted to remove the seal, it would require the consent of both parties, even if he was the strongest one or he would damage the mind and soul. He had an inkling that this seal was the reason why the deranged dragon slayer was like this; that the seal had locked away his madness and given him reason back, that he would never voluntarily harm the man in his arms.
Gin rubbed his face in frustration. It turned out that the dragon slayer still had a heart. There was a lot of information to take in and process but Ciel was still the most important thing right now.
“He will die if he doesn’t receive treatment.” Gin took out a pill from his spatial ring. “Can you at least feed this to him first? He’s lost a lot of blood.”
He tossed the pill to George, too afraid of getting too close and causing George to unintentionally hurt his son. He watched as George, who had smoothly caught the pill gently feed it to Ciel. The light in his eyes seemed less bleak when he saw Ciel’s complexion improve and his breathing grow stronger. Gin was still unsure of his next move but he knew he couldn’t kill George. Not only was his regenerative abilities much stronger, he was afraid of hurting his son, who was still in his arms. The seal meant that he couldn’t do anything to him anyway. One life one death; even he and Scarlet had not been so bold as to use that seal on each other.
“Won’t you come with me? Let me take my son back for treatment. When he’s better, he can be with you.” Gin continued to coax. He wasn’t sure how much that man would understand; he seemed to be moving on auto-pilot, without a conscious mind. After a while, the man nodded and stood up. Gin frowned and tossed two robes at him.
“Put on some clothes.” He watched as the man gently dress his son, the look he gave Ciel extremely tender. Was this man aware of his feelings for Ciel? Or were they like instinct and he was acting on the subconscious level? Would his bloodlust activate again? Gin decided to take the risk; he transformed into his beast form. “Get on.”
George did not seem to see anything out of the ordinary. Having dressed himself, he gently picked up Ciel and got on Gin’s back. Seeing the two of them secure on his back, Gin took off. There was going to be a big commotion when he got back. One thing was for sure; he was not going to tell anyone other than Scarlet that George, the most notorious killer in current mythology had been tamed by love and that they may have to accept him as a son-in law.
