The hall grew silent when the elder started speaking, "All of us remember Thomas. Only you," the elder pointed at Harper, "might not have met him more than twice. You were still on your journey back then."

To that, Harper nodded. "The man impressed me. I remember those terrible eyes thoroughly."

"Thomas was indeed a dangerously gifted fellow. Like you, Gabriel. Oh, you've met him, by the way. When you got here the first time, he was battling Lorad and Gaia," said the elder.

Gabriel did indeed remember the man, and the angel, and the succubus too.

"Tom passed the Testing. Like you, he was not born on Alter. Lorad invited him. And he passed the test with flying colors. Thomas managed to tame one of the most powerful Spirits in the Testing and received it as its Bond. A beast of Legendary might, just as legendary were the Rarity of the Skill it bestowed on Thomas and its Spirit. The man tamed the Behemoth."

"Now," he continued, "how it unfolded after that is not relevant to this meeting. What is relevant is that after a thorough background check and intense research, we have indeed linked that man to your family tree. Gabriel, Red Tom is your uncle."

If the hall was silent before, after that statement, it became uncomfortably still. Gabriel could even feel a certain change in attitude toward him.

"I have no idea what to say. I never met any member of my father's family. He died when I was eight. And what little I remember of him is fragmentary. When I asked my mother about him, she always stated that they met when they were twenty-something and married right away, yet he lived alone and had no family to speak of. However, I guess he could've been hiding the truth," Gabriel, though annoyed, tried to be as welcoming as possible.

"It checks out. Everyone who worked with your father said the same. The man thought he had no family," asserted the elder.

"Which brings us your grandfather, Christian Walker, Thomas, and Michael's father." The elder paused for a second, "Though Lorad has not been communicative toward telling us about his best friend, Christian. Our searching and scrying have led us to nothing. Nothing at all, Christian existed, yet he did not. How he managed to meet Lorad goes beyond me. Yet their friendship goes back decades. Then on that fateful day of eight years ago. Christian disappears and leaves him with a sixteen years old Thomas."

"Your father might really have never met his brother given the age difference," intervened the heavy man, Jackson. "He died sixteen years ago, at thirty-two years old, so when his brother was born, he would have been twenty-four himself," he added, caressing his short beard.

"But what about his mother?" Asked the tall man, talking about him as if he was not even there.

"What can you tell us of your mother's origins?" He extended the question to him, at least.

"Where does she hail from? You are partly Sioux, right?"

"Why are you asking for things you already know? You've done a full check on me, have you not? What reason is there to ask me something you already know?" Gabriel said, "You want to know about her origins? Mississippi, Oxford. She was born in a shack in Bienville National Forest. She departed soon after. Do you want to know about my grandparents? They probably died when I was twelve… although, although…" Gabriel's head swayed a little.

"Are you okay, boy?" Someone asked.

"Yes. I admit that my grandparents were quite weird. They might have had something to do with Alter. I… I do have this image of my grandpa with his wolf friends, standing in the middle of ley lines peculiar silver wind. I think that memory is tied to their house. They lived at the center of the forest, where the valley rises up into a small mound. They died with the fire, though. It ate the whole valley. We went to their state funerals they had together with some other victims," Gabriel couldn't help but be at a loss. He thought that memory was just something his mind held on to as a memory of his grandpa. However, it was too specific to not be somehow linked with Alter.

As the talk went on about speculations of speculations, he felt himself detach. At the questions addressed to him, he answered automatically.

At a certain point, Gabriel started massaging his beard and head. He noticed that he couldn't help but think that he needed to shave, or at least trim his beard, and his regrown yet short hair needed to be fixed too.

The absurdity of the thought he was having while people talked about his hypothetical family, ties, origins, and how they all linked to their disgrace made him realize that he didn't believe half a word they were spouting. Which meant that he did not yet trust the people around him.

However, focusing on them, he felt how much… relaxed they all were. These people, they all carried themselves with a certain… grace, power. It made him realize he couldn't simply walk away from them. They were powerful entities, each their own weight.

The one who really gave him the chills, though, was the elder. If he looked too much in his direction, he felt he would be snapped in two; and the elf was doing nothing at all. He had yet to see one whiff of Mana release from him or all the others for what mattered. Then what was that sensation hanging in the air? That feeling of powerlessness around him?

I wish Liz was here, he suddenly thought.

Gabriel had grown used to having his lizard always by his side. It made him feel whole and safe.

"Is he still there?" Gabriel heard the woman say.

"Gabriel walker, I said you may leave if you want. I know it's been a rough day," said the elder.

Without even looking at him, Gabriel nodded, murmuring a thank you for their hospitality, and left. He sped for the exit, almost bursting into a run.

Next, he knew, he found himself outside and trying to catch some air.

He was having a panic attack.

Maybe it was all the new information or the fact that he had just discovered that his mother had disappeared, and he might never have another chance at telling her he was fine and that she should not worry. That she should start life anew, find somebody to keep her company, she still had all the time in the world to make another family.

Before he even got to that point, Gabriel noticed that he was in the Garden hidden behind a tree. Maybe he had sent some sort of distress signal because Liz was there, pushing against him. As he saw her, he held onto her, squeezing her as much as he could. His regular Power was nowhere close to being able to damage her now with that, so she let herself be embraced in this thigh hug.

 

When Gabriel next opened his eyes, it was night, and having no Cold Resistance. He even started shivering for prolonged exposure. So he started walking around the house to keep himself warm.

He had the idea of summoning his spear and bag and leaving, right that very moment, but he could guess someone had been placed to keep watch over him. Maybe he was even a suspect now.

Fuck. Should never have come here… what do I do?

Before he noticed, he found himself near the right building mansion.

He could distinctly hear the sound of someone fighting or maybe training.

Fighting. Yes, that would be of real help. Moving his body around. Use his Skills. It had been ingrained into his psyche. Fighting had become second nature. Yes, he would join the training.

Weirdly, nobody guarded the wide doors of that place. Even better.

Gabriel ventured inside right away. It took him exactly four steps to be welcomed by the enormous hall. It seemed that the tall first and second floors he could see from the outside of the building were just for show. The dojo, he was sure it was one now. It was just one massive hall. He could see some doors here and there. Yet, other than a massive Cradle-style azure brazier suspended high in the air by chains, not emitting a whiff of smoke or heat whatsoever, the dojo showed only absurd types of equipment and wide empty space.

The sounds came from his left.

In the suffused azure light of the braziers, a man was training. It had a blindfold covering his eyes and the top of his head, a tight, midnight blue karateki sort of uniform covering him; it looked more like a sweatsuit. He kept repeating movements at a speed that was difficult for Gabriel's eyes to follow. Drops of sweat launched in the air, reflecting the game of lights and making it a scene worthy of a photograph.

Suddenly, the man stopped mid-motion and turned his head toward Gabriel.

He didn't say anything. He just raised his hand in Gabriel's direction and signaled him to join.

The young man was taken aback, but a wide grin spread on his face. That was everything he was waiting for.

"Liz, stay here."

Gabriel raised his arm to the side, the Sk'rayr spear materializing in his open palm.

Next he knew, he was shooting at full strength at the man.

Blindfold was barehanded, yet he curled his lips into a smile, receiving Gabriel's thrust.

Gabriel did not allow himself to be surprised by the incredibly liquid dodge the man had used. He had recognized that movement. It was the Kata of Foam.

Yet if he was an apprentice in the art, the man in front of him was something else. There wasn't the bare effort in his movements. They flowed through him like… water.

He felt like water. As Gabriel converted his failed thrust into an upper swipe, the man was ready to dance around him once more. Gritting his teeth, and with great effort, the swipe converted once more into a pirouette spear butt-swipe aimed to his flank.

The sweatsuit effortlessly grabbed the spear with his hand, then with a hard to believe counter, he used Gabriel' force to somersault over the spear and to Gabriel’s flank effortlessly.

At that moment, he knew the man would throw his own still traveling. There was only one thing he could do, release the grip on the spear.

Letting go of the spear, Gabriel, now finding himself with his back to the enemy's front, turned into a backward elbow attack, which the karateka easily dodged by moving his head back a bit. But Gabe did not stop there. He added a punch with his left hand, still using the momentum the elbow attack had built up.

Like each of his moves until then, the blow was imbued with his full might, Burst Attack, and Meridians. Once again, it was useless.

At this point Gabriel knew, it was not only about Attributes, the man had not even been using a single Skill for what he knew, but it was clear that he outmatched Gabriel in techniques several times. Something that Skills could not cover. But that was not all, he knew he was no master, and that had been abundantly cleared. Gaia had taught him the basics, or the few motions she knew of the three Katas of Water; the rest had been generated through repetition. However, his body was the problem. It lagged behind. His body couldn't properly follow up with his mind. He knew it wasn't a problem of Alacrity, which boosted both as a whole. It was the fact that although he had spent months inside of The Memory, he had only trained with his mind. There was no muscle memory being developed, and that too seemed to be abundantly clear. Nevertheless, he did not give up. He would never give up.

The man evaded once more, this time backing away several steps, while it was clear he could have avoided the blow like he had been doing until now. Gabriel could recognize a smug smile spreading on him.

He did not let the bastard taunt him, or at least he would not give him the time. He Dashed toward him, managing to take him by surprise slightly. With a roundhouse kick, the man got out of form, evading with Kata of the Tide, but Gabriel coming back did not end there. He followed the roundhouse summoning his spear and transforming the circular momentum he had gained into a continual swiping attack. The attacks were too wide for the man to evade with Kata of the Foam. He was forced to swift to the Kata of the Tide.

The air whistled like windstorms breaking through a broken rooftop, but the man evaded every single one of them. Yet, he did not counterattack like the Kata of the Tide required. He only focused on evading his attacks.

At some point, Gabriel's patience started evaporating; he broke his cycling stance, letting the spear continue in its cyclical rounds in mid-air, then lowered himself and Dashed to the bastard. He switched to Kata of the Surge in a big two palm attack rushing from below Gabriels' waist level and toward the man's chest.

The man could only evade the still circling spear by lowering himself, so in that very moment, with Gabriel coming from below toward his bent chest, he could only take the offensive or use a Skill. He decided to convert Gabriel's attack by grabbing his wrist and moving with him, propelling him up and away. Or at least that was what he wanted to do, and what Gabe had thought himself. But Gabriel's strategy did not end there. He Recalled his Spear, the momentum-carrying spear, disappearing from mid-air released the power in the air, with an explosion that produced a little whirlwind on top of the two.

Gabriel could not forecast what happened next; having never tried so before, the spear materialized in his hands, snapping the man's hands from their grip, displacing them with the power of its summoning. Gabriel was still flying in at the man's height when grateful by spear freeing him; he retaliated with a kick, hitting the man right in the chest.

Blindfold felt the blow. However, the initial momentum of Gabriel's attack let him fly high in the air. There was a lot of power in it; in fact, he would reach the ceiling, not maybe, I need more momentum to reach it! Gabriel turned toward the man; he was still disconcerted of having been hit full in the chest, for some reason. What he expected even less was a spear being thrown at it at full might.

Auto-targeting allowed him to coordinate his throw with the man’s position roughly. He was still close and had managed to train at least that much during The Memory. So, if the man didn't move aside and fast, he would receive the hit, once again, straight in the chest.

The man moved away, just in time, the spear dug deep in the pavement.

Gabriel reached the ceiling and stepped toward the man, the spear once again in his hands. He had no idea how much Mana he had left to keep using the Sk'rayr spear, but he would continue as long as it took.

When he reached the ground, it was clear that the man had changed his approach. He started to attack. It was frightening. The raw power and speed would be absurd to evade Kata of the Tide, not even thinking about receiving them with Kata of the Foam. His Toughen was still shit. There was one thing he had yet to try though, maybe it would surprise the man enough to allow some critical hits in.

As he evaded the frightening palm swipes, he shifted his style to his creation, Kata of the Tempest. It was an immediate success.

The first punch connected with the man's arm. Useless to say, it was almost hard as steel. Gabriel felt something in his hand bones give in, but it would not have been by far the first time.

The man probably thought it was but a stroke of luck. He did not feel the blow too much, but more importantly, he did not change shift from Kata of the Tide. It was his mistake.

Gabriel reiterated, adding Toughen to each blow. The third time he answered with a fist to his swipe, he closely avoided it. He leaned forward and released the fastest strike he had managed until then. It hit the man right in the ribs. Next he knew he saw a whiff of Mana, release from the man's body. He was about to use magic, and Gabe would do the same.

It was instantaneous. Gabriel did barely think about it. He used Battle-Seal.

Then his world exploded into pain.

The Sub-Skill was seemingly reflected on him, it was the only reason to explain his sudden lack of feeling on his abdomen, but that was just the cherry on top.

A mighty surge of power, had the man strike with a thunderous punch Gabe couldn't even see, right on his sternum. If there was one thing that saved him, it was probably his instantaneous and much-rehearsed use of Toughen and Helping Hand on himself.

He could clearly feel his solar plexus shatter, his lungs collapse, and his heart stop; then his body zipped toward the other side of the room, and embedded in the walls with a boom.

Gabriel was into a weird state of uncertainty. His heart had yet to restart. He noticed that quite clearly, and yet he was still definitely alive. He heard and saw everything, he could even move his limbs about, but everything was becoming sluggish. Helping Hand was not working fast enough. He just realized that maybe, the Skill was not meant to restart a stopped heart. Who knew which other limitation it had. Yet one thing was clear, he was about to die, and he didn't want that, but his eyes were closing, ever so slowly they were about to shut down… shut down just as his brain… running ever… slower…

Then there was a burst of light, and he gasped in all the air he could catch. Choking on it, his lungs burning.

He opened his eyes to Liz on his chest and a girl with neck length, black hair, and eyes on his side. Her hands were red with blood. The pain in his chest made him think he had just been bisected.

As he lowered his head to look at the state of his body, he noticed a relatively fast gap in his stern, slowly fixing itself. He could see what he thought was his ribs. Then he shone of silver light as Liz cast instance upon instance of her version of Helping Hand.

He didn't know if it would be effective, but better safe than sorry. It seemed to increase regeneration speed marginally, but it was relative.

Once the greatest part of the pain had receded, and he could at least see his bones entire whole and the muscle-building on top of them, he started laughing. His ribs were killing him. There was still his own Battle-Seal on his abdomen, so his laugh wasn't really coming out full. He quickly released with but a thought and let himself laugh to his heart's content.

"So, my mom gets kidnapped. I find out I have a coetaneous uncle, and he's a badass, which puts me to shame. My family was probably, for generations, tied to a planet with real magic. And I lose against the first man I fight, and he kills me with only a punch! Man, I'm a loser!" He laughed and kept on laughing for a minute before the girl, which really looked like a taller, female Darte, and just as flat, coughed to get his attention. Her bloodied hands were still waiting to be cleaned.

"What?" he asked, "Was it you the one who helped me?"

"I gave you a direct heart massage. You were not getting up. No matter how many times I punched you. It was the only thing I could do. You are Gabriel Walker, right? Are you sure you're the-"

"If you're asking if I'm sure I'm the Herald, I'm going to make my lizard bite you to death. She's much stronger than me." He challenged the girl with his eyes.

"Rough day, uh?" She answered more than asked.

"You have no idea…"

Still laying on the ground, Gabriel fixed himself up. He had to lean on the world to keep himself straight. His head was thumping and swaying. "Give it here," he said.

"Uh?" she said perplexedly.

"Your hands, give them here. I'm used to cleaning blood."

Arching her brow, she gave him her hands, and as Gabriel made to clean them, his corruption-tainted Mana started acting crazy. It reflected on himself. Doing nothing given the low intensity of it, but to his Mana Sight, it looked as if the wave of Mana emitting from his hands, curled up to return back, then the whole thing repeated, it looked like a turbulent sea.

"What the hell?"

"It's my… problem. I'm immune to Mana, and when it touches me, it bounces back."

"It bounces… back?" Gabriel realized it at that moment.

Matter of factly, there was a dark cloth on the ground by her feet. If that wasn't the blindfold, what else could it be?

"You were him! I mean, you were a man!"

The girl closed her eyes, and holding her index finger with her thumb; she flicked it right on his ballsack.

Gabriel folded on himself once more for the pain, and she left him like that.

"The… cherry on top…" Gabriel whispered to himself.

It had indeed been a rough day.

 

***

 

The meeting had finished; everyone had left the room but Gaia, Darte, and the Elder.

Olivia had been waiting behind the door and entered with them. She nodded to Gaia.

“Elder. There is something of which we should talk about,” started Gaia. She was insecure about this. Her lips seemed to tremble.

If what they had talked about this morning was real, and at this point, The Witch of the Depths said she was… then they had at their hands something far different than what the Book of Prophecy was heralding.

Gaia didn’t know if talking about it would be ideal, but Olivia and Darte had convinced her that it was the right thing to do.

“What is it, my dear?” The Elder was sharp. He seemed to notice a problem right away. His tone shifted to one of compassion.

Gaia sighed, “It’s about Gabriel and what he’s been through while he was gone. What you are about to hear will sound weird… but maybe…”

Darte interjected on her insecurity, “Maybe we’ve got on our hands something greater than a Herald for the people of Alter. And at this point, even the Witch,” Darte turned toward Olivia, “doesn’t know what to do of it.”

“What are you trying to tell me?” the old elf asked.

Olivia answered for them; no, it was the Witch. “Have you ever heard about a war twenty-seventh thousands of years ago? A war so big that made all the people of the world join hands, and so old that it predated the very Gods of Alter?”

“Predated the Gods of Alter? That would mean something predating the Great Mother Tree? No, I’ve never heard of it. And though history is muddled back in those times, I doubt there ever was such an event as you are suggesting.”

“That is what I doubted too… Because even in my modicum three thousand years, I’ve never even passed upon such knowledge. However, I had to stop doubting because today, my Oracle of the Ocean certified that statement.” The Witch continued, “Now, Elder, it’s you who has the boy in his hands now. What do you suggest we do about it?”