64

"Gahaha!! If you ever try to step here again, I promise that you'll never gonna leave alive."

Baratum waved his hammer and lifted it. He was injured but it was not enough to knock him down. 

He knew that he disobeyed the orders of the higher-ups, perhaps he would receive a punishment. 

Yesterday, he got a message that their guild should leave the Cransia Empire. Baratum understood that a big event would happen and their guild must turn blind about it. That's why as a last gift, Baratum helped his friend. 

Oregan was mad but he left, the thousands of soldiers walked. Some of them were struggling to move, Baratum didn't hold back when fighting them.  

Now they found the reason why Bloodline Uniqueness was a frightening ability. It was outside of common sense, they fought Baratum and they believed that their attacks could kill at least 3 Masters but it seemed that Baratum was stronger than three Masters combined. 

Minutes passed and the silhouette of the soldiers was vanishing. He looked at the Palace, the tremors of the battle had reached his place, kilometers away. 

"Aquila so you made that decision, huh."

Baratum was melancholy, he looked at the sky, the snows were falling even though it's not winter. 

……………………

Bloodline, this was the power to pass on the ability to children or offspring.  There were two types of Bloodline, they were Aura and Element.  The earlier Rara Avis and Mahikero passed on their powers.

For example, if you were a Rara Avis Master there's a strong chance that your children would become Rara Avis.  It's as simple as that, it's like hereditary traits. It was genes that were lying in their bodies that carved their paths. 

Just like how Aria, Julian, and Augusta had the Water Elements because their ancestors were Water Mahikero. 

However, there was another concept of Bloodlines, it was the Bloodline Uniqueness. These were the special effects, abilities, techniques, or Gifts of their ancestors that had been passed down. 

Shucan and Baratum was part of this category. In this whole Continent, Baratum's tribe were the only ones who could transform into a giant. 

Shucan's predecessor awakened the technique to control the grains of sands fluidly. This became their signature. Uniqueness made them stronger than ordinary Masters.

Some of Uniqueness could only gain if they overcome the Tribulation of Path. And some of it could be awaken on their birth. 

…………………

Nine hundred years ago.

Families of fishermen and sailors were bowing to a statue. They were called Cransia.  They were living on the western edge of the Continent where the blue ocean was located, their lives were peaceful yet not. War was rare in this region but fighting Demon Beast was the norm. 

Sometimes, while fishing, they would meet Demon Beast under the water, it would attack them and they would die.

As fishermen and sailors, their lives were always connected to the sea. That was the reason why they were devoted to the Goddess of the Sea, praying that their sailing would always be protected by her. 

The Goddess saw their loyalties, night and day she saw their offerings at the top of the altar. The Goddess was elated on this modest nature, she was the type who respect sincerity. 

She knew they were afraid of the Demon Beast that's why she gave them a Gift. They could control the Elements of Water much stronger than any Water Mahikero. Not only that, she gave them the ability to slow their enemies. She was naive Goddess didn't even create a Contract, she believed that her loyal devotees wouldn't use her Gift for a bad reason. 

Every Goddess had their own personality, they may have been crazy but they were different from each other. The Goddess of the Sea was innocent(sort of) while the Goddess of Light was a bitch.

The Cransia could see different smells, they would react faster whenever the reddish color of odors of Sea Monsters appeared. 

Whenever Demon Beasts attacked the fishermen, they would use their Gift for protection. They would slow the monster to escape, the Gift was created for that reason…… But, time passed. The family of Cransia made the Gift as their weapons to reign. 

The Gift became a Bloodline Uniqueness, it was a move that the Goddess didn't see…… All the more that it evolved. 

Uniqueness could be honed and sharpened, they would evolve depends on how the warriors or mage used them. 

The Gift of slowing down enemies transform to freezing the enemies, it took 600 years to evolve. 

The 18th Patriarch of the Cransia developed the Gift into a frightening ability, this was the start of the creation of their country. They first invaded the region where Duke Obata's territory was standing now. 

Every kingdom fell when they encountered their might. The simple fishermen became the leaders of a country and after 170 years, they founded the Cransia Empire. 

The Goddess of the Sea found that her goodwill became the reason for wars, her hatred exploded but she couldn't retrieve the Gift, after all, it was not a Gift anymore. It was a Bloodline Uniqueness, their offspring inherited the power and she couldn't do anything about it. 

However, the Element of Water was part of her Authorities, she was the major holder of this Authority. The second was, the Uniqueness is still connected to her and together with these two factors, she made her decision. 

She cursed all of the Cransia and their lineage by creating a Gift Contract. If they reached the Master stage and awakened their Uniqueness, their lifespan would be reduced… The Cransia may become one of the powerhouses but their lives were short. 

Still, their faith in the Goddess was true. Yes, some of them hated her but it could never change the fact that she was their Goddess.  Their lives will always be part of the Goddess.  

However, their prosperity and combat ability had not stagnated.

 Aquila, the genius, evolved the Gift into a more frightening ability….… He didn't give a fuck about the consequences. 

He became the fourth human that stepped the Godhood. 

Aquila, the Emperor of the Cransia Empire, was the only Mahikero that could stop the time. No other man could reach his greatness, at least for now. 

……………………

Aquila coughed blood, he touched his chest and kneel.

"Gah!…… It looks like my lifespan was not enough to kill all of you… ack!"

Blood splattered on the marble floor. Only three Masters were alive but all of them were heavily injured. 

Three seconds, three seconds only passed but almost all of the Masters died. Even the surviving Masters were saved because they were Defense Type. Their Aura was thicker than the other Rara Avis saving them from the quick death. 

(Meh... It's all about the history, I gave some foreshadows but I think you are too lazy to read all of it. I mean history is boring, so I understand if you skip some parts.)