Chapter 24: Sparks…

Arson and Troy stood, both in a deep squat. The boulders above their heads weighed multiple tons, and their sweat soaked bodies didn’t help them hold up the oddly shaped rocks.

“You’re not going to beat me, kid, I’ve been a Cultivator far too long to lose to you just because you don’t sleep,” said Troy with a grunt. Arson only smiled. He knew she was right, he wasn’t going to last much longer, but he had no plans of defeat. So instead he remained silent and focused.

They’d been frozen in place, deep in concentration, for most of the morning. The others had long given up on the contest and Arson wasn’t the type to give up, nor was Troy.

So when Jade told the group that the winner would receive a new skill taught to them by his mother, Arson gave himself no other option but to win.

The others were older and had much longer to gather powerful skills and abilities. If they hadn’t, they were either lazy, or too ignorant to accept external help; two things Arson refused to be the poster child for.

“By the sparks of the midnight realms, Arson, give up!” Troy had a serious expression on, as both her and Arson’s entire frames begun to shake violently.

“Hmmm,” said Arson with a raised eyebrow. A single drop of sweat rolled off his forehead as his smile toward his friend grew.

“I refuse to lose to you again, you sparking demonic brat!” Arson began to laugh at Troy’s disgruntled face as they both fell to a knee. The mana absorbed by the boulders had reached an all time high for both of the Cultivators, and would only get harder to hold up with every breath that passed between the two.

Soon afterwards, Arson yawned and closed his eyes. He’d truly nearly come to his body’s limit, and knew he could win if Troy gave up hope. It was her only weakness as far as Arson could tell.

He made his head slump forward and compressed himself. The level of flexibility shown was an astonishment to witness.

He brought his feet together with a smooth transition from a kneel to a crouch, and then sat on his ankles. His feet now flattened to stabilize his body and balance the weight evenly.

Arson laughed to himself when he heard Troy’s sigh. He had flattened himself further with a tucked head between his legs, and he’d even managed to drop his elbows further toward his midsection.

The boulder stopped completely above Arson. No tremble to be found as Troy began to scream in frustration under the weight of an equally large manna stone. The red boulder grew brighter even as she roared back at it as it shook in her hands.

She threw it to the ground and nearly attempted to punt it but thought better of it in the middle of her wind up.

Arson immediately dropped his own boulder as it threatened to crush him entirely and looked up at Troy as he came to his feet with a huge smile; only to catch her pout and sigh before their eyes met and she seemed to perk up.

“To be honest you had me, I was about dead under that thing, man,” said Arson. Troy’s eyes narrowed and then widened.

“No way, I really almost won that?”

“Yeah, seriously, that was a feint, I had nothing left, have some more faith next time, I’m pretty sure you’re the strongest person here by far in our training group,” said Arson.

“We saw the new skill, I know you are entering a new realm of power as well, no point in hiding it now, little buddy, and Arson, you gotta be more careful, Lane is good at getting your good side, and I mean like all the time dude, it’s scary, you look like a prince half the time and you’re surrounded by trash heaps, if you’re going to hide something, do it somewhere Lane can’t get aerial shots from any and every angle,” said Troy with a laugh.

“What the sparks, is that why I keep getting request for people to come train in the dump with me on my holo-watch?”

“Yeah, we’ll ignore that you were obviously on the edge of a dangerous zone in that video and you were still able to hold your own pretty well,” said Troy with a direct stare.

“Whatever. You’re already training in a blue zone, I can feel it, it’s the only way that you could have beat the Demon last night the way you did,” said Arson. The rematch had been brutal to the point that Arson didn’t finish the fight, and instead had waited for Troy in the locker room.

“Yeah, but all people are saying today is that, the Demon really must be afraid to get beat up by Sovereign again to take such a disgraceful loss to the Queen of Troy…”

“We both know you could beat him easy now so why does it matter? Aim higher, I’m sorry if I ruined that victory for you somehow, but how would you have reacted if it were any of the Builders with a hole in their chest and you saw it?” The question was weighted and Arson knew it, but he didn’t know what else to say, as he truly didn’t feel bad for his actions toward the Demon.

“All I’m saying is that if I lose in the future I need you to let me fight to restore my own honor. Many of the others around you will want your protection in that way, but I am here to protect you in that way. We are family now, kid, and you can’t seem to tell how valuable you are. You say I have no faith in me, but how much faith do you have in yourself?” Arson froze momentarily. Some questions he didn’t have quick and easy retorts for, and others made him think in a way that even a genius mind ran from. The things they feared the most.

“Other than the festival, what have I really done but destroy things, spark up trouble and bring you all along with me. At this point, I feel like an angry little kid in the captain seat of a very large plane with a lot of passengers, and they’re all excited that I’ve planned on us not landing safely.” Arson pushed down the anger that bubbled up in his chest as he and Troy ran back for dinner.

“You’re about to buy a nightclub if this meeting goes well, and who knows what you have planned for it,” said Troy. Arson cut in and didn’t let her wonder long.

“Mini mall on the first floor, build second floor, make better nightclub, Thinking about calling it Blackhole Coliseum,” said Arson.

“See, those are impressive things for a person your age, kid,” said Troy. Arson stopped.

“You know I thought that too, but then I researched my sparking parents, one has conquered multiple realms of existence, and the only person strong enough to beat him, you’ll never guess who that is,” said Arson sarcastically.

“Jade beat the King?” asked Troy.

“Apparently you don’t know the history either, huh? Well to put it simply, the realms are in an age of peace because my parents both in blood and adopted relation, fought to control all of the realms at some point long ago, and Jade won.”

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“I feel like there has to be a lot more to that story,” said Troy as they began to run again.

“Most likely, but most records of history during that time period are both impossible to find without a incredible hacking ability, social or economic tie to a knowledge Keeper, or would have had to been alive then to still have documented anything from the period.”

“Well how the sparks do you know any of this then,” asked Troy.

“Technically, my mom is the biggest knowledge Keeper of them all, we might as well be standing in the greatest domain of knowledge there is. I mean think about it, trash is dumped here from all the realms combined, it’s just disorganized,” said Arson with a smile. Troy looked around at the dump in an entirely new light, and she smiled.

“That still doesn’t answer my question though, buddy. How do you know?” Arson rolled his eyes.

“Found this database on my watch and I can pretty much ask it any question I want. It sometimes doesn’t have the answer, mostly when its about personal stuff, but otherwise it seems to have me covered,” said Arson. He loved the first item he’d ever bought from Jade…which reminded him that he had over 100 mana cores to give her on his return.

They arrived with a few moments to spare before their guest knocked. Arson turned back to open the door for Mr. Kim and his men.

Arson had already met Seven, but the others were nameless as far as he knew, except for Mr. Kim who stood incredibly tall at their center.

The man was wider than the table at the orphanage, and Arson felt an odd pressure on his mind as the group entered the home.

“Of course the inside is larger than the outside would ever reveal,,” said Mr. Kim as he appraised his environment from top to bottom.

“You can only imagine what Anna thought to teach me, and my mother was one of the strongest gravity Cultivators to ever live,” said Jade. She’d appeared from what Arson believed had to have been thin air. Some sort of teleport maybe? He was unsure.

He had no clue exactly how fast his mother was, as even Troy still couldn’t manage to strike the woman. Or even make her move.

Arson had been forced to figure out ways to successfully annoy his mother into movement when they trained, which further astonished his friends. He had a drive to be the strongest and would eke out every victory he could. No matter how small or large it may seem.

Not like I’m ever going to actually hit her, not even sure I could hit Troy anymore?

His mother definitely still took things easy on him, and his friends. Keepers were normally incredibly powerful, and had reached realms of power that Arson could only imagine, and now he was supposed to negotiate easily with one such person.

“Hello Mr. Kim, so nice of you to join us,” said Arson as he attempted to courteously direct their guest to where they’d set the table to dine.

The group walked away from Arson and his mother, even as they continued to speak at them as if they were barely noticed street beggars.

“Ana taught you her methods. Wow, that is really a surprise since she has been so secretive,” said Mr. Kim. Arson didn’t like the seriousness of his mother’s gaze, nor did he like how he was being ignored. Or how his mother was being spoken to.

He often saw photos of his mother and the woman he assumed to be her deceased wife. He often wanted to ask Jade about her, but the face of pain she wore every time the woman was brought up gave Arson pause.

Anastasia Savage apparently designed the entire holo grid that was used by Cultivators currently in power. She was also seen as the mother of modern technology and the founder of the scientific cultivation paths.

Arson had an inkling that the AI in his watch that he wasn’t supposed to use, had been left behind by his mother’s dead wife. A fact that only made him love his watch that much more.

“Mom, is there something I should be aware of?” Jade’s gaze shot toward Arson, and he was surprised by the obvious rage she couldn’t hide in her facial features. She looked away in seeming shame, and took a deep breath.

“My dead wife isn’t why you are here, Kim, and if it is, then you should probably leave, as I don’t have time for your sparking HonorBorn games, nor will I allow my child to play them,” said Jade. Mr. Kim nodded and smiled as he turned to face Jade.

“Ahh, you couldn’t have expected me to finally be able to enter your home and not give you any kind of hassle,” said Mr. Kim. Seven stared only at Arson from his boss’s side. While Arson felt momentarily bad for doing to Mr. Kim’s men what the man did to him, he couldn’t help but fume at the disrespect.

Arson had quickly grown used to his friends and mother’s treatment of him which left him slightly off-balanced as he tried to create a strong professional reputation, all while still only being seven season cycles old.

It was then that Arson realized, he wasn’t as weak as he thought himself to be. Things around him had changed so rapidly that he was nearly unaware of the impact his actions had on those close to him. As well as those whom he’d never even met.

“Hey Seven, this dude knows I’ll do a lot worse than bang up his nightclub if he keeps ignoring me, right?” said Arson with a side eyed glance toward Seven. Seven nodded and Troy giggled.

“And why exactly would I waste my own time talking with the orphaned runt of the Archons,” said Mr. Kim. Arson smiled as the man spoke to him truly for the first time.

“Let’s see, your entire territory is in criminal based sectors of Maelstrom, I’m connected to nearly all orphans from here to the other side of the city, which means that your runners, and practically any other job you burnt out spark plugs don’t want to do that gets pushed off onto us normally, won’t happen, in fact I’m so childish I’d rather pay them not to work for you, just to show you how far reaching the work of us street kids really is,” said Arson. Mr. Kim began to laugh abruptly.

“You really think that a few orphans could really bother me of all people,” stated the man full of blatant condescension.

“Jasmine…,” said Arson simply.

“Yes Lord Sovereign,” responded Jasmine from behind Arson.

“How long would it take for you to contract all orphans in Mr. Kim’s employ and make them the new workforce for the BlackHole brick and Mortar we are about to finish,” asked Arson. He and Mr. Kim were still locked in a stare that quieted the room as their conversation continued.

Mr. Kim was the type of person to believe he was untouchable. What Arson knew that Mr. Kim didn’t, was that 33% of his entire workforce were actually orphans, and the loss of them all would cripple the man’s businesses if what Arson planned actually occurred.

Arson had originally planned to pay Mr. Kim a huge contract fee to use the orphans in his employ, but after only a few moments in the Keeper’s presence, he wanted to cripple the man’s everything.

Was that petty, maybe… but Arson didn’t care. No one would talk to his mother any kind of way, not even Arson himself.

“Mr. Kim, if I may, we make more money off the underpaid brats from the Maelstrom Orphanage and their satellite locations than practically any other association in the city, I don’t know that we would be able to handle the loss of-” started Seven.

“Bah, this devil spawn can have every orphan in the city work for him, it won’t change the fact that my son is going to kill him off at the first chance he gets in the tournament of Scions, and to think your mother got you into Adroit Academy where the rest of the HonorBorn noble children go. I’d rather die than have you grace the halls of my…” started Mr. Kim. The man continued to ramble and Arson shared a look with his mom. Jade smiled at him and Arson nodded back.

Arson didn’t know he’d actually gotten into Adroit. He’d only taken the entrance exam as a joke. It was the most expensive school in the realm. For Arson to be accepted was a claim beyond being rich, as to get into one of the most prestigious academies in known creation, talent was also a requirement.

“It seems we don’t have any business to speak on further, I’ve paid the damages already for the Mana Well, and if you don’t plan on selling it to me, I’d prefer it if you left,” stated Arson as he continued to stare down the now red-faced man.

“Seven, give the child the sales contract, I’d prefer to be rid of the club and never have to experience dealing with bottom feeders in my life again,” said Mr. Kim with a look toward Jade. Arson’s eyes begun to fill with power and the stars within began to revolve.

A chime fluttered through the air as Arson’s holo-watch rang with the notification for a received contract. Arson sent the contract to Xani, and had his watch scan for factors within the document that would be negative for his business’ continued growth.

Mr. Kim and his men left, and Arson fumed as he paced. He wanted to set the club on fire after a single meeting with Mr. Kim and didn’t know how Jasmine had gotten along with the man until he remembered she’d never met him personally.

“How did you manage to work for that spark plug for so long?” asked Arson over a bite of food. His mood still not changed even after the sun had set and the contract had been paid.

“His assistants are much nicer than him, and honestly it seems like the only other Keeper in Maelstrom that gets along with Jade is Almarine, and even that I am unsure of,” said Jasmine.

“Your mom pissed off a lot of people coming up in her younger days,” said Xani with a smile.

“A lot of people or everybody?” asked Arson. Xani and Jasmine looked at one another before they both responded at once.

“Everybody.”

Arson rolled his eyes. He didn’t believe his mother could have angered everyone he would have to interact with in Maelstrom as he grew up and tried to grow his ventures, but he’d been wrong before and would be again.

“Doesn’t matter now. We have a lot of work to do and I doubt that the way I just handled business with Mr. Kim is going to make that any easier,” said Arson. He regretted how quickly his anger could make a situation more difficult, but he knew that the personalities of Cultivators would only become more and more abrasive the stronger he himself became. No one wanted real competition and even fewer would see the true threat that he was, until they either wanted him gone or dead.

“Nope, but we can always add a raid on Mr. Kim if you want,” asked Khalif excitedly. Arson thought to himself for a moment before he nodded once more.

“Looks like our short list of friends just got that much shorter.”

It was then that Jade spoke up for the first time since Mr. Kim left, and Arson struggled not to get angry once more at the sadness he heard in his mother’s question.

“Why didn’t you tell me you got into Adroit Academy, you know how dangerous that place is, I told you so many times how often I almost lost my life there as a child,” stated Jade as her eyes filled with tears. A sight that stole the rage from his chest.

“I want to be just as good as you, I can’t get there without a real challenge, Mom,” said Arson without the knowledge of what his own mother had planned for him. A plan she put into place to get him ready for the next step. Yet, he’d managed to put himself in a much more dangerous position, and he didn’t even know it yet.

“We shall see what you decide in the end…”