Chapter 50: The champ is here!

Tick. Tick. Tick. Arson watched the 2 season cycle timer countdown in the corner of his overlay.

He sighed as he walked through a portal he half-suspected would walk him into a literal black hole as a test. Instead, when he walked through the gateway and saw miles and miles of trash in every direction, he was filled with an exhilaration that bubbled up and exploded out from him in a roar. A roar that could be heard for miles.

…

Troy walked out of the portal with the others and was about to take off her helmet, when a roar could be heard unlike anything she’d ever heard before. She’d of course heard Arson roar before, and that sound had filled her with fright even though it came out of his seven season cycle old frame… but this was of a magnitude all of its own.

Just across from the clearing from their party stood a hooded figure that bellowed so loud that the air itself seemed to vibrate temporarily. Troy took a look around at the others who were also on high alert.

The members of BlackHole had been attacked on nearly every front during the past couple weeks, and this event to them felt no different than the many attacks they’d been plagued with thus far.

They hadn’t believed any would dare to invade Jade’s territory; yet there they stood, moments away from having to defend the home of their friend and leader, Sovereign Arson Omni.

“Come on Khalif, we gotta handle this before things get out of hand,” said Troy before she lifted two maces carved in the shape of krakens, and darted toward the potential invader.

…

Arson took a deep breath and looked around once more. To his surprise he was being rushed by a little over a half dozen fish like creatures.

“Think,” mumbled Arson to himself. Though his opponents were quite fast, especially the one in the lead, Arson still had time to take in things around him before they came close. He took a deep breath and a single step forward.

“Analyze…,” said Arson as he began to feel a smile stretch across his face. He immediately noticed the difference between the normal Olympian armors and whatever these beings were. Though they had the heads of fish and some even sported clawed gauntlets with fins down the side, Arson could still sense something familiar, as if he could instinctually tell they were Cultivators, rather than beast.

“Move,” said Arson. He didn’t infuse himself with mana, as he needed to keep a low profile now that he returned, instead he let his body’s full potential loose and moved through the crowd like smoke though fingertips.

"I will put down anyone who feels free to do as they please on my mother's lands, thought Arson to himself before he raised his hand toward his first opponent and wrapped it around the neck of the target he knew to be the weakest first. He knew if he was going to fight without mana, he didn’t have time for an honorable bout.

…

Troy knew something was wrong the moment the man in front of her moved. Her eyes couldn’t track him, so by the time the first of the trainees was slammed behind her, she was already unbalanced.

"Maybe I should call for Jade? No… she heard the roar as we did, and didn’t rush off to solve whoever this is, which must mean she thinks you can handle it, Troy. Get your head in the game!"

She turned around, in time to see two other trainees knocked unconscious simultaneously. One kicked in the head, before they were snatched out of the air by an ankle, and used like a great hammer to knock the second out.

Troy knew both would be dead if they weren’t Cultivators. Their heads collided at such speeds that she’d be surprised if they woke up that week without the support of healing.

Their problems continued. The man moved like he knew how to stay out of her line of sight at all times, which made her every move feel like a counteractive measure.

She was shocked to see Khalif manage to emerge from the man’s shadow far enough to grab the man by the mid section. Though whatever her teammate had planned failed miserably, when the man widened his stance and spun.

“Holy—“ Khalif cursed as he was slung up and away from the man’s body, only to be silenced by a second spin, and accompanied high kick. A maneuver Troy knew she would try to teach herself if she survived the fight.

Troy stared at Khalif’s armored form momentarily, and then bellowed herself. She tried to rush the figure again and again, only for more of the trainees to be slept one after another before her eyes. She increased her speed passed the point that she could perceive even her own movements and began to spin.

At first she had full control of her own actions. The man put space between himself and her and she counted herself lucky. She felt wary of using as much mana as she wanted to near to Khalif and the others.

This was why she’d truly pushed away from her group during the dungeon. She feared hurting her own friends more than anything else in her cultivation journey so far.

Once the man was far enough away from the others, Troy, pushed. She felt mana leave her body in a gush; then, she extended her arms out as far as she could manage under the weight of the two maces she held.

At the same time, Troy mentally took herself beyond where she’d been when she fought the foe who originally owned the maces she held. The sensation returned slightly in the beginning. It felt to her like drinking cold water in a hot shower, but the effect was what she needed above all else.

The vortex of energy created when her body began to drink in light this time, was far different. Though she had recaptured the effect she’d forced onto her body originally; the environment was completely different and far more saturated with light mana.

The momentum caused by her spin increased the draw of mana further and in a breath an entire light tornado was formed around Troy; that both drank in light, and increased her speed.

By this point she’d lost control entirely…

…

“Gestalt,” said Arson. In the next instance Bloom and Glory stood beside him and both stepped forward at the same time. One form caught a mace in an outstretched hand, Glory, and the other form extended a palm filled with a rune that slowed the figure to a much more manageable speed.

Arson then grabbed the figure by the neck and spoke to Bloom in a voice so deep he felt the person quiver with each word. He felt rage at whoever these people were, and had no intention of letting them leave unscathed.

“Bloom, wipe their memories,” said Arson. Bloom giggled and raised his other hand toward the person’s head with runes that floated in front of each of his fingertips while the person began to yell and thrash about violently.

Only for a familiar voice to fill Arson with absolute joy, as well as sorrow when they said, “Hello son, I don’t know what you are about to do, but I believe you should treat your girlfriend much better than this after how hard she’s worked to keep things afloat for you.”

His mother's voice was sweet and filled with laughter, but Arson froze completely after he raised a hand to stop Bloom. He glanced at Jade who nodded at him with a cake that had the number 19 on it.

His hand trembled as he dropped Bloom’s wrist from his grip and lifted the mask from Troy's shoulders.

He gasped when her brown hair fell free and he could see her heterochromatic eyes. The only word to leave his lips, her name.

…

“Troy…" the deep voice spoke and Troy didn’t register her name. Nor that she had been lifted off her feet and was being hugged. Swallowed in a hug so warm she felt like she could fall asleep at any moment.

Before she realized where she was, or remembered that she’d just been in a fight with the person who held her. She hugged him back.

“Hey, I’m here too,” said Jade, and Troy was set down, but not without pulling the hood off the person in front of her. It was her turn to gasp both at the tribal sun across the man’s face, then at the star filled eyes that opened to greet her.

Arson pulled back from Troy just enough for her to see him roll his eyes, and smile. Then his gaze turned slightly serious and when he spoke, Troy knew everything was about to change.

“Yeah mom, but Troy had nothing to do with me spending a dozen season cycles away from home,” said Arson before he kissed Troy on the cheek, and let her go. She felt heat rush to her face, but still managed to frown as she digested what Arson had just said.

“What gave me away?” Even though Jade spoke, Troy had yet to take her eyes off Arson. With the exception being the glance she took at her hand when Arson took it into his own.

“PRO told me about the Port of Heaven, and what happened here before you merged a dead realm with CloudLake. It was an easy assumption to make after she stated that gods have to permit their children to enter any realm beyond their birth realm before the age of majority, didn’t really know until you confirmed it though.” The conversation was going completely over Troy’s head, but she was far too bewildered by how she wasn’t uncomfortable. She in fact felt strangely… whole, somehow.

“I see that I won’t be able to think of you as a seven season cycle old child anymore,” said Jade, but Arson’s response took Troy’s breath away.

“Well as your biological son, I don’t think you should have expected anything less from me.” Troy noticed how Arson’s smile didn’t reach his eyes in that moment, and knew that Jade wouldn’t miss how his grip tightened around her own after he’d spoken.

“How—,” was all Jade managed before Arson cut her off. The moment an obvious first between the two, a power dynamic that had never shifted so drastically before, was now enough to make Jade frown outright.

“How long ago did I figure it out, before you had me sent away to a place you knew my younger self wouldn’t be able to walk away from, didn’t think it mattered before I left, but now I know why it does…” Jade looked away, and Troy wondered if she should give them privacy, but the way Arson held her hand made her feel as if he was desperate for her to stay. So she did, and instead put her other hand on his arm in comfort.

“Or do you mean how did I discover you are my birth mother? Because I can’t imagine a reason why that would matter, especially now,” continued Arson more calmly. She didn’t know if what she was doing was helping, but he seemed to be less angry, so Troy stepped in closer and smiled up at him.

“Be kind to your mother, don’t forget that all the people we grew up with, wish for something like this to happen everyday Arson,” whispered Troy.

“Sparks Troy, what, leave you in charge for a fortnight and you had to grow up huh, well I don’t care how sensible you are being, I have season cycles worth of questions and I deserve answers, love…” It was Troy’s turn to roll her eyes, and Arson stuck his tongue out at Troy in return. Though she knew he was being playful, she could sense the seriousness of his claims. He did deserve answers, but his mother didn’t deserve anything less than respect.

If Arson had been fatally injured, or even worse, had his cultivation destroyed, Troy could understand resentment between the two. But, whatever Jade had done, had made Arson far stronger from what Troy could tell, as a cultivator. Shouldn’t Arson be happy about his progress?

Separate yourself from wanting to hold hands with a gorgeous young man and think for a moment, Troy. Was he mistreated? You don’t even know how hard the journey was for him…

“I’m here for you silly, but until you give me good reason to understand why you are being so abrasive with your mother, turn it down a notch,” said Troy, with a stern gaze and a quick poke on Arson’s cheek. He closed his eyes, growled, and then nodded down at her, which filled her with an indescribable amount of joy. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face, and shrugged when Jade rolled her eyes at them.

“Do you really have time to waste asking your mother questions, or have you not started to get the notifications yet?” said Jade. Troy looked between the two and watched as Arson shook his head, then froze.

“What in the sparks is this rubbish!”

…

Arson’s Overlay exploded with notifications. All of which, he could not ignore.

*10 lives inspired: Ten Cultivators have been inspired, taught, or saved by your actions to live on and bring prosperity to Uni-Vare.*

Reward given: free offensive overlay kit key.

These style of notifications were unfamiliar to Arson, but he continued to gain rewards for every ten apparent lives he’d affected, until 100. Then more rewards, for every 100, until 1,000.

The notifications didn’t stop until his overlay claimed he’d affected over 10,000 lives throughout the realms. Either through minor or large feats.

Many of the rewards came with titles due to what Arson had accomplished. One of which granted him the title, Fearless, he didn’t know the effect granted but was interested to look through all of his rewards later.

After a long moment, Arson grew frustrated, and knew his mother was right. He had work to do, and very little time before the Endless call would take him once more.

Hand in hand with Troy, Arson walked over to another one of the masked figures he’d fought and with a point toward the unconscious body asked, “Khalif?”

Troy nodded and Arson bent down, lifted Khalif with a single hand, put him over his shoulder, pulled her in close to his side, and began to glow.

“This isn’t over, Mom,” said Arson simply and to Troy’s surprise, they lifted off the ground. Arson held back a chuckle at Troy’s slight shriek of alarm, and continued to stare down his mother.

“Hmmm, I guess not, don’t forget your cooking lessons later, and try not to overwhelm her, you just got home, son, let her catch up,” stated Jade. Arson nodded, as he knew the eye roll he’d nearly done may not have been received well by his mother.

“Yes ma’am.” He instead decided to put his hostility on the back burner for now, but knew that he would have to find a mental resolution to what he was feeling or things wouldn’t change, rather, they’d most likely get worse.

“Where is everyone by the way?” asked Arson with a look at Troy, in the exact moment, he decided to burst off into the sky at incredible speeds.

Jade merely laughed to herself as she was left to watch her son fly away. Her worries had settled that he wouldn’t survive. Yet new worries fogged her mind, as she didn’t know what her son had become, or what strange power she’d felt him use during his encounter with Troy moments prior, but all were things to be wary of. Then Jade had another random thought and knew she’d truly been aligned with her inner nurturer as a mother.

“I wonder if he’s too old for a safe sex talk?”