There were things some parents feared more than their child going astray, and it was that they themselves becoming twisted. That it would be themselves that would harm their child, and not the cruelty of the outside world.

Landan could feel his body not listening to his commands. His mind and body were being seized by the Death Force and Evil Energy that had now been seamlessly intertwined.

He only had a few breaths of Life Force left. It had been extended thanks to his technical proficiency at using Red Wind to ignite the Death Force, but it would work forever.

He had a few hours left at most.

If he managed to find a 'Holy Relic' or 'Sacred Silver Mystic Tool', then he might be able to balance out the evil with holiness. The only thing was that he had gifted the only Holy Relic he had on hand to his son a while ago.

Unlike him, who was only using talismans to create Red Wind, his son had it flowing through his body. One slight miscalculation and his body could combust into flames.

That, or becoming completely powerless.

For someone who'd recently experienced what it was like to have no control over his fate. For a man who had lost his wife so suddenly in one day… He knew that death would likely be better than that option.

Moreover, there was a high chance that earring would do nothing anyway. After all, it wasn't the same thing. The wicked energy trying to corrupt him was different from Red Wind. Even if they're from the same source. 

'Red Wind' was the air of apocalypse. It was considered to be a holy power to some, and a malicious one to others. However, this was not the same as the corrupting influence of Shaitaan. It was the exact opposite of it.

One was pure wickedness, and the other was the malice of the Lord and master of creation.

If he was to wear the Perri Earring as he was now, there was a high chance he'd corrupt the one pure spirit. Digging into something within to alter the alignment of that beautiful exterior.

'Then I have to do it alone. Put myself back together.' Landan spoke to himself inwardly.

He wasn't Humpty Dumpty. Others weren't needed for him up put himself back together.

But there was also another though in his head: Maybe… Just maybe… Maybe he could use this as an opportunity to sacrifice himself for his family. He was already dying. One last act of kindness should be enough for him.

He tried to imagine it.

Dying to save his son. Dying to give his son a new opportunity. Dying to prove how much he cared. Dying to make the most of what little life he had left. So long as he was determined to die, shouldn't things turn around for Lex?

'That should be right.' He thought to himself.

It was only after finding a stroke of self-aware humour in this situation… did he start to realise that he really was the father of an honest to Grace… 'Hero'. One that would get his fair share of sadness from his death. 

Landan doing some heroic self-sacrifice wouldn't likely get Lex to do anything. If he had actually said something, maybe… but death wasn't as dramatic as in the movies.

Death was normally super slow or instant. A rock cracking the skull, and if you're saved, it only changes to a life like death or slowly getting closer to it. The fact that he was still holding on meant he had a chance here.

So why was he giving up so easily…?

It took some time to realise that this was likely a subconscious effect of 'Humpty Dumpty'. A story that was twisted to show the despair someone felt near death. When falling, how did Humpty feel? Did he have  indignation?

When broken to the point of being physically unable to put oneself together, wouldn't the mind slowly walk towards ending the ability to think? Either way, this extended internal monologue he thought was too sour.

Repeating the word 'Death' in this narration without caring about any rhyme or logic. 

It was simply brainwashing.

He had to think something positive if he wanted to live. Try to go beyond his limits because… he seriously couldn't leave Lex alone yet. His child's training wasn't finished.

Only upon completion of the Ruqya Method and complete domination over Red Wind would Lex be safe from… 'him'. Landan's own grave robbing had put his son in danger.

Red Wind without completion of the Ruqya Method was akin to a bomb. Who knew what could set it off and probably turn his son into a Jinn himself? Thinking that, could he really say his self-sacrifice would benefit Lex?

That would only protect his damaged ego.

If he wanted to protect his son, he needed to kick and scream until his final breath. Bite and scratch until he got past his problems to survive. Live as long as he possibly could regardless if it would look elegant or not.

Live even if he became crippled and hurt.

This resolution combated story of Humpty Dumpty. He was different from a simple tale.

His story… He'd write it into legends!

Knock knock.

Someone had struck his door twice. They had  waited until he gathered himself enough to open the door. The youth on the other side locked eyes before carefully entering. Trying to keep the conversation as long as possible.

"You wanted to see me?" Lex tried to sound as casual as possible straightening his back.

His father was acting strange. He even looked different. However, he'd rather die than even try to acknowledge that something was wrong right now. Even if it was, the man before him wouldn't let him in on the secret.

He could only move forward.

"I noticed your Stigmata Gifts. Have you awakened them?" Landan too didn't bring up his condition. He talked about things that were surprising, as if nothing had happened.

And nothing was GOING TO happen.

 …Well, not right now anyway.

"Yeah… Let me explain them." Lex sat down and started to talk about his abilities in thorough detail. Not missing one aspect so he could potentially hear a second opinion.

He told him about 'Party Link'. The power to create up to four comrades that could always be aware of each other. Their connection would allow them to sense each other. If that isn't possible, it could at least make them aware if the others were alive or dead.

Then came the second Stigmata Gift.

Simon had given it the name: 'Armament Handler'. It appeared as weapon tattoos of varying shapes on his other arm. Allowing any weapon he'd chosen in that dreamland to come into existence, but with one restriction.

Only those within his 'Party' could handle the weapons. All while gaining the abilities of the weapon in their body. Once a 'party member' chose a weapon, they could summon it independently without express permission.

"That's interesting." Landan was looking a lot more lively now. Proud that his son had finally awakened his potential. He spoke with less worries about the future: "So which weapons can you assign to your 'party members'?"

The mood quickly shifted. They began to talk more like friends than parent and child. It was like he was going back to those casual couch potato days when his mother was still alive.

"There is this one." The first one Lex brought up was the 'Confessional Daggers'. Which were extremely rare Holy Relics that could infinitely attack. They reignited hope in Landan's heart after he heard the abilities.

"You're the first one I'm showing this to. The secret feature of these daggers is…" Rather than finishing his sentence, he put the two short blades together. Ther started to glow and transform themselves into a long sword.

There was an intrinsic beauty of a cross when looking at the weapon. It didn't perfectly imitate the shape, but the simplify of the design really made one have good feelings.

"What's this?"

"I've turned the 'limitless attack' feature into the 'magic counter' ability. Each time the sword is struck, a 'Magic Counter' forms within the blade." Lex ended with a look that seemed to hint something. Trying to say that this ability sounded really familiar, right?

Landan put that aside.

"Did you say party members all 'gain abilities' based off the chosen weapon?" Landan now became even more interested in this. Not in the way of being a spectator, but now desiring to use his son's new Stigmata Gift himself.

But he was willing to hold it off for now.

From what Lex said, the link formed would quickly make the boy understand his current condition. Until it was certain, Landan didn't want to reveal his weakness at any cost.

He'd rather not make the kid uselessly worry.

"Interesting, right?" Lex was oblivious to his father's thoughts. Smiling without a care in the world: "The ability to charge up after each attack with 'Magic Counters'. It's actually like our 'Bullet Style'. Do you want it? We can try to see what happens if we 'Cartridge Load' with a Magic Counter. It could be amazing!"

"Oh, so it does that?" Landan hid his own disappointment internally. From what he heard, this Holy Relic didn't have passive cleansing on the body. He asked a bit more and found these 'Magic Counters' were temporary. Not lasting enough to matter.

But this brought force a simple question.

"Does 'choosing a weapon' apply to you as well?" Landan asked while thinking about this a bit more than the who possessing the Gift. It was a question that made Lex halt in place.

His expression stagnating in thought.

He looked at his arm and sensed his own ability and restrictions. Being able to fully comprehend the laws of this Stigmata Gift on his own. Similar to how normal Job Classes could do with the more generic superpowers.

"…I don't feel like an exception here. Now I don't know what to pick." Lex's face became complicated. There were so many weapons with interesting abilities he wanted to use.

'Confessional Daggers' looked the most useful and practical, but there were others as well. The fused sword state he called 'Grand Inquisitor' wasn't really a dealbreaker yet.

"What others are there?" Landan's face full of unfamiliar wrinkles relaxed. He looked a little more like himself at this point. The only child that could look at that face and recognise their father would only be Lex. Only him.

That smile reminded Lex of a particular weapon. He pulled out a peculiar mask to cover the mouth. It was metallic and cold to look at. Almost like it was made to protect the face from swordsmen obsessed with lips.

In the less 'intimate' way, at least.

"This is called 'Sentinel Strife'. It may look like a mask now, but putting it on unlocks two features after it extends into gauntlets and leg guards… which are shaped like gauntlets." It didn't take long for him to showcase this.

When he put the mask on his face, it simply attached on and extended a pair of gauntlets on his hands and feet. It increased his overall weight. He punched the air a few times and shadow boxed. Trying to impress his father.

The man still had that unchanging resting-bitch-face he always had on. Not even trying to acknowledge his son's talents. To him, it would always be to early for such a thing.

Lex disappointedly put Sentinel Strife away after deactivating it. Putting the weapon in his father's hands while lazily remembering the details. When he remembered everything, he continued his explanation on the features.

"The first ability is 'Strike Charging', which is similar to the Warrior Class Stigmata Gift of Power Sharpening. The only difference is that it can only charge and not stall the release of the strike. Once you start charging, you have to follow through." Lex rolled his eyes and practically spelled out why he didn't use it.

The last feature was…

"Lastly, there is some spirit sealed in the weapon. Apparently it's a martial artist obsessed with water. Now… The next one is going to be-" Just as Lex was about to move on, a sudden gasp was heard in front of him.

"The heck you say?!" Landan roared with outrage. Even he himself didn't know why he was so angry. Was it because his son said something crazy? Or that he brushed it off?

"Ummm, Dad? Why are you angry? I didn't do anything yet." Lex scratched his head.

"YET?!!!"

"I mean… I'd never-"

"You're telling me after this Stigmata Gift of yours had CREATED A GODDAMN SPIRIT for this weapon, you're going to act like nothing happened. I can sense the spirit in this right now! Why?! How?!!!" There was an enormous amount of disbelief in his eyes.

"Dad, why are you overreacting? Think of it like a familiar type Gift." Lex shrugged it off.

This kind of lazy answer made Landan seriously close to kicking his rear. Give that stupid face a beating. Just enough. Only a bit so he could realise how stupid he was being.

But then decided to have the patience his wife couldn't give anymore. Listening closely.

"Hah…" Landan signed before asking: "Does this 'soul obsessed with water' have history?"

"There should be some records." Lex still didn't understand what his father was getting at. Probably too tired from recent events to think deeply about what this answer meant.

"Then it isn't the same as a familiar, which are beings from other worlds. Your power has essentially created a person's spirit. You did not 'summon' her." It was only after this was said did the listener finally understand him.

Lex looked like he was struck by lightning after being given back Sentinel Strife. He still decided to address it later with someone else rather than now. Gesturing at his father.

Landan didn't stop him. He admitted that was an important topic, but not enough to break Lex's mood and make him feel guilty about not noticing. It would be better if he let his son gush about the other weapons a bit longer.

"Well, err… There was this other weapon I wanted to show you. It's likely the best one out of the batch." Lex forced himself to continue: "This one is still unawakened."

He brought out a blood red ball made of some sort of crystal. It didn't look like a weapon.

"This one's got an interesting ability that can convert Life Force into Death Force. 'Riot Custom— Rogue Teeth' could even do the opposite." Finally, Lex brought up a weapon that Landan desperately needed at this point.

"Link me."

"What?" The youth tilted his head.

"Link me to your 'Party'. I want that ability right now!" Landan grasped onto hope and became more desperate to survive. A rush of euphoria rushed through the man's weak body. His mind becoming more clearer.

'You really are bad at being typical.' A thought like this lingered in Landan's mind. The next few actions done by his son would make it so he wouldn't be tragically dying any time soon.

He became a 'party member' of his son, and probably the strongest Big Guy of the team.

Even if he was going to be classified as a mentor now, Landan was no longer scared.

It was time to write a new kind of hero story.