Chapter 42:  Disbelief & Inspiration

Armor once more found herself enamored by the actions of her family. Her eldest was in some sort of gang-related tussle with a young man named Khalif, which at first seemed like a trivial matter.

As days passed though, Armor’s opinion changed. The young man was devious and seemed to outwit Ash time and time again.

In one situation, Khalif and other members of Black Hole led Ash and a few dozen members to a fight, in the middle of a set of hover-rail tracks. Even Armor hadn’t expected the two trains, but somehow not a single member of Black Hole was struck.

Unlike Ash and those that accompanied her. The members of Black hole disengaged in a single moment, in what seemed to be a synchronized and practiced dance. Armor gasped as the first train collided with more than a dozen gang members at once.

Ash could be seen in the air above the chaos in the next moment, but then the second train seemed to sweep away the dazed remainder left on the tracks.

Flying swords swooped in and slid underneath the feet of the Black Hole members, and as a collective the group roared before the swords took flight and the members of Black Hole vanished into the skies.

Armor frowned at the sight as a storm of swords flew around Ash and prevented her from the chase. More and more incidents occurred in a similar manner, until Armor grew to believe the instances were planned to the letter by the Black Hole members.

As Armor moved to the next cloud on her small island, Autumn could be seen within the garden her youngest sibling had created in recent days. She often couldn’t help herself and used her abilities to improve the lusciousness of the gardens every inch. Grass grew greener in her presence. Fruit grew more vibrant and plentiful.

Armor knew how hard it was for Autumn to find a place she felt accepted for her love of plants and wildlife, but as she watched her daughter take part in a meeting for the advancement of crop growth in the dump of all locations, she began to wonder how long the place would be considered a dump.

Her husband's youngest child was now the largest buyer of trash known in the CityNation of Maelstrom. Yet her stomach twisted as she looked around at the dump Autumn worked for free in, as less and less trash could be seen in every direction.

The number of workers grew by the day due to how much Black Hole paid. Yet, Autumn volunteered her every waking moment for free, which unsettled her mother even further.

What is happening to my family….?

She moved toward the next cloud, and saw that Auto was still working on the same project he had been since a member of Black Hole developed a new drone design.

The weapon-based drones were extremely efficient, and had stormed the scientific markets and dazzled all who came across the fusion of mechanics, mana, and weapon craft.

Auto was the most affected by this turn of events. As her son was young his abilities with engineering and creation had been unrivaled. Now though, his own drones that had once been without competition in local regions, began to sit on shelves for the first time in his life, without purchase.

Purchases that funded his many experiments, and lavish lifestyle choices . Auto now determined to renew his flagging sales, was committed to a new drone design of his own. One that if it worked would be lovely to own, but was also his current greatest struggle.

She’d ordered him food constantly, as he wouldn’t eat otherwise during his work. With the addition of a beautifully crafted android who also fed him. Armor had always wondered why he didn’t just sell his lifelike creation, but knew that the season cycle's worth of work that culminated in the birth of the android meant more to her son than the money that could be made.

“You will get it, just don’t kill yourself trying…” The words felt hollow as she knew her son would never hear them, regardless of whether or not she meant them. She rotated and drifted toward another cloud, and scoffed.

“Alexander… what the sparks are you doing…” Yet again she wished she’d gained more skill with her seer abilities, so that she could interact with those she viewed.

“I can understand wanting to become famous, but this is too far, young man!”

Armor watched her youngest cohost a show with a girl named Lane, and a chef named Rob. They seemed to be sampling dishes made by the chef and promoting the food delivery services by Black Hole. The group also mentioned their expansion into chauffeuring, their fashion work with the Icon, Axis Omni, and the opening of their own superstore.

With how much the group had accomplished already Armor believed they wouldn’t surprise her further… Then she checked on Aura.

The girl was in the middle of a training session with a young woman named Troy… With the hope of joining Black Hole’s body guard devision. Armor grit her teeth at the sight, but couldn’t hold back the curses.

“Sparking Maiden’s dark end, you’d have to be an imbecile to see anything but destruction will come from these bloody choices!” Aura was a professional prize fighter of a completely different caliber, and even still she watched as her daughter threw away that career to be a part of… what exactly?

Armor would die before she allowed this to continue. Thoughts of war bubbled to the top of her mind and she didn’t push them aside as she normally did. She let her power grow as the emotions that resulted in her need to escape to the island she now resided on, returned.

“My father named me Armor as his father named him, and though I live with the taint of the Omen, so do my children. We will overcome the curses of our blood before the Omni rise. We the Omen shall return the silence of the dark, and I shall be the shield against the evil that is the illumination of all things,” promised Armor to herself in a whisper. She knew that only one family could remain in the end. Only one family could return to the land of Endless permanently and decide the fate of Uni-Vare.

“Heaven will belong to Omen once more, and by my blood, my children will lead.”

Armor dared not look at the cloud that held the sight of her daughter Axis. As her best friend was now a girl named Jasmine. A fashion icon in the making from what she’d already seen.

Instead, she sat. The sky twisted above her small island, and dark clouds began to poor out of a crack that formed in the upper atmosphere.

The sensation of rage grew in her stomach and she felt the power collect above her. Red and blue bolts of lightning danced in the clouds momentarily, until Armor let loose a scream that seemed to shake the sea itself around the island. The lightning mixed and purple flashes begun to strike the water around her, which created explosions so loud that Armor’s scream itself intensified tenfold.

…

King LightLord sat on a throne when he felt his wife’s power begin to build in the distance. With a single glance out of the window, he nearly decided to crush the storm before it could become a problem, but then realized that the situation may benefit his own plans.

“If I let this happen, how will you handle it, my son…” He’d kept an eye on Arson through Seneschal, but even his demonic butler couldn’t currently find his son’s location.

Draphen wanted to begin to test his youngest as he had done his other children. Yes, he was about to break many laws by doing so, and yes, he was also fully aware of the potential backlash he may experience from the rest of the HonorBorn society. Yet, he felt too tired to care.

“He hasn’t been seen in almost a week, my lord,” said Seneschal. The king looked away from the storm and toward his butler.

“Do you have any idea where he is?” Seneschal shook his head, but Draphen knew the man lied. He didn’t know why he lied, but also knew his butler wouldn’t have done so without reason.

“Well then tell me as soon as you locate him, and be sure to not let this happen again…”

The king dismissed his butler. His own thoughts for what he had planned for Arson bloomed to life for the first time since his son had disappeared.

“I should ask Armor where Arson is, it's probably his actions that have her this riled up in the first place.” The king smiled as he rose to his feet. He looked toward the storm in the distance, and let his large wings flow free from their binds.

…

Jade couldn’t help but be proud, and worry. It was hard for her to keep her calm as the orphans continued to wonder where Arson was, and if he was alive.

She knew he was alive, and could sense as much. She’d always been able to tell if he was alive and well through their eternal lifeline. Born cultivators such as Arson were born and could even die with this link in place if their parents outlived them, or ascended beyond their mortal coils..

This link told Jade he was alive, and had even grown since their proximity over the last season had been incredibly close. She could now sense slight emotions and sensations from the link when she focused.

The sensations she now read were so horrific she had to separate herself from others. She’d locked herself away in a dimension only she could enter, and had ignored the alarm that attempted to alert her to a massive storm on the horizon.

“What is happening to you, my son?” said Jade.

She knew where he was, and thought he’d be gone for 7 days at most. Yet, though she knew where he was, down to the tower Arson had been led to within Endless, she didn’t know what path her son had chosen.

“How could you smile in the face of such pain?” asked the woman to herself. The flashes she was able to pull through the link and into her mind told her that her son was being tortured.

He had been cut. Beaten, ripped, torn and mutilated. Yet her son seemed to stare down his torturer, and smile.

What bothered Jade is that she could tell the smile wasn’t artificial. It wasn’t put there to unbalance the mind of his enemy. Nor was it there to anger the individual during their attempts to cause pain.

“What have I done?” It was the same question she’d asked for days, only now the question made her feel feeble to her core. Weak in a way she hadn’t experienced since Anastasia’s death.

Her son’s ability to regenerate, though powerful, it wasn’t without end. She knew her son wouldn’t last forever.

He was currently kept sane by an unbridled focus. His mind’s will was entirely engaged on one task.

The surface thoughts that came with the flashes were filled with plans. Plans for those he loved. Achievements he wanted to complete for his family and friends. Things he believed that would eventually make Jade proud of him.

“I am proud of you my son.” Jade rose to her feet from her slumped position in the corner of the home she hid in.

She wiped her face. Fixed her face in the mirror provided by her own Holo-watch. Opened a portal into her own dining room and stepped through.

When she emerged she arrived into a chaotic mess of orphans. After she looked around momentarily, she revised her analysis, and smiled for the first time truly, in days.

Many surrounded the table of food, but eating was only a secondary measure within the room. The orphans were active in every section she could see.

Around the table were the heads of each department, which consisted of the Builders of Godhood. Troy, Jasmine, Rob, Xani, Khalif, Lane, and a pair of twins that Jade still hadn’t quite been introduced to.

Each in their group gave orders to other orphans within the room, and from what she could see there were only a few tasks to be completed.

One part of the room held many different holograms, that a dozen or so children watched as the images changed rapidly. What could be seen were many views of the city, and the activities of the other members of BlackHole.

When certain situations arose on screen, other orphans ran messages across the room to whatever leader needed the information. While the final group of orphans fed the others, cleaned the area each time a new group of orphans changed shifts, and even patrolled outside on guard.

She felt selfish for keeping what she knew from them, but they would all learn soon anyway. Arson was already 14, and she’d begun to wonder if he would ever return.

She was forced to push the thoughts to the back of her mind. Tears wouldn’t help the situation. Jade could tell her brave face was often the only thing that kept those around her currently in a confident mood.

Just stay calm Elizabeth. You have tough skin, and so does your son, he will make it through this…

“Even if he hates me for the rest of his life…” mumbled Jade to herself. It was then that the room went momentarily silent of all conversation. The sounds that came from the Holo-screens were the only thing that could be heard.

“Sorry, I had business that needed attending to, have you had any luck?” Jade watched as Troy looked around at the others near to her as they all shook their heads.

“No ma’am, but we will drop dead before we stop looking.”