The location was the ark of the Aegis clan, the Dragonheart. Ernie was currently humming as he worked on the engine of the ark. "There," He dusts his hands. "With the new narly tweaks I placed, You peeps don't have to worry about this beauty breaking anytime soon." He gave Conroy a thumbs up. "That's great Bro Ernie!" "And with that, I'm done fixing the ark, it's good to go and so are we!" "About that... Where do go from here?"It has been 2 days since Ace and Reginald accompanied Kaz to see the elders. Vorus had awakened a day ago and the ark's repairs were completed. Ernie had finished the repairs ahead of time and even went an extra step to add a couple of upgrades. For starters, the Dragonheart lacked any cannons for battles against other Arks. Although these battles rarely occur in the Western Continent, Ernie warned the crew that the Eastern Continent is a place more brutal than where they came from. "That's where you met Sirs Kaz and Ace." Says Conroy as they arrived at
"Seth."Inside a white room of infinite space, Ace was standing in front of a cloaked figure."Where am I? Who are you!?" The figure in front of him had the shape of a woman, her long black hair could not be kept hidden in the cloak. "I'm disappointed..." Said the cloaked woman. "You don't recognize my voice anymore." Ace's eyes widened as he gasped. "It can't be..."The woman removed her cloak to reveal pale and smooth skin and a pair of dark blue eyes. In short, she was extremely beautiful and any man would lose their mind gazing at her beauty. However, Ace didn't gaze at the woman with the lust that most men would.His eyes became teary in an instant as he runs to the woman and embraces her. "Mother..." The woman smiled as she pets her son's head. "How are your brothers doing?" Ace had dug his head on the woman's chest. "Is this just a dream or are you real?" "It's both, beloved. I've been trying to reach you all this time.""Mom, it's really you! I'm sorry we couldn't sa
"Huh?" Ace blinked his eyes... "Where am I?" He found himself in a white empty room with no walls."Am I in the astral plane again?" "Hey, lad!" He heard a voice ringing in his head. "Jacob? What's going on!?" "Calm down lad, you're in your subconscious." Ace's head felt foggy as he began to piece out what he remembered last... Jacob points his sniper at Ace as Harold's purple aura hands emerged from his back. "I need you three to die."A vein popped on his head. "You two attacked us!" He cursed.He recalled being shot by Jacob and Harold taking out Reginald and Kaz. "Sorry lad, it was so we could proceed with unlockin' your second layers... It's buried deep within your subconscious." "Yeah, quit whining already!" Harold's voice echoed in his head this time around. "We made sure not to hurt you kids too bad." "That's reassuring..." Said Ace in a sarcastic tone. "Plus, how are we able to communicate?" "It's thanks to Kisha." "Kisha?" "The Sloth Saint, you saw her earlier wi
"Jester!" Kaz and Reginald were everything but glad to see the dreadful mask of the Don that created havoc in Ernia. "Hey, lads," Jacob calls. "How far are you with charging your second layer?" Reginald and Kaz took a trip to their subconscious thanks to Kisha's abilities to locate their second layer that was buried deep within. That was the first step in harnessing the second layer of ain within oneself. The next step required the two of them to concentrate and channel all their ain till it seeps into the second layer thus granting them full access to it. They spent 2 hours doing that whilst Ace remained stuck in his subconscious. "I'm 90% done." Said Kaz."We're ready," Reginald reassures. "Good," Jacob pulls out his Sniper Riffle. "Cause from the look of things, we're in for one heck of a fight." "What do we do with him?" Reginald asked referring to Ace. "I think that traitorous bitch locked him up in his subconscious to stop him from being a part of this confrontation," Ha
"Argh." The ex-assassin had been trying to lift the dark orb inside his subconscious, but to veil, the orb would not budge."Why won't this thing budge!?" He shuts his eyes and begins to think of a way to lift the orb. "Think, Ace, Think. There must be something that I'm missing. This is my subconscious, meaning everything here is inside my head and I have a certain degree of control out here." He stares at the glowing orb. He picks it up with ease. "I can lift this one easily, guessing that's my first layer."He chuckles. "To think they'd call them cores instead of layers but... Who am I to judge?"He hardens his gaze and slaps his face. "Focus Ace. Your friends are in danger... I have to get out of here the soonest."An invisible light bulb appeared on top of his head as his face lit up. "Of course! That just might work." He tightened his grip on the glowing orb. "Here goes nothing..." Ace slammed the glowing orb onto the dark orb on the floor and a shockwave sent him flying."
OLD DOJO IN BORDER TOWNErnie was lying on the floor with his back leaned against the wall. He had just finished making a roll and was ready to take a puff. He hits a blunt and says... "Well, we've been waiting for hours bro, are you sure Dimitri is going to show up?"He hands the blunt to Enrique who was sitting beside him. "He told me he had some errands to run and would be back soon.""I'm tired of sitting around and doing nothing!" Vorus exclaims. "Why did you even interrupt my training?" "Chill big man." "Don't tell me to chill... Little man." "Calm down Vorus. Ernie was just trying to help." Maggie scolds."Yeah, you didn't have to mean about it, Sir Vorus." "Sorry..." "It's okay Vo bro." "Vo bro?" The former district commander tilted his head unaware of the creaking sound of the door opening behind him. "He's here!" Ernie's face lightened. A man walked into the dojo, he was wearing a black kung-fu uniform and had a belt strapped around his waist of the same color."Ern
"It's been hours since Vorus began his training with Dimitri, don't you think we should check upon him?" Maggie, Conroy, and Ernie were currently sitting on the deck of the Dragonheart. "Nah, Dimitri isn't much of a people's person, Vo bro will just fine." The laid-back guitarist states as he gets up. "Right now, we should focus on seeing what we can do to make you two stronger." "You mean us three?" "Yeah, don't you want to train as well Bro Kaz?" "Conroy my man, I'm not a fighter, I'm a pacifist." The two Aegises tilted their heads."What are you talking about?" Maggie scoffs. "We fought Ace's brothers together!" "That's right and it was your unique aura burst technique that brought the two brothers to their knees." "That's true, but that case was different, my friend needed me and I had to step up. Most of my narly musical abilities are buffs and the aura burst doesn't really deal any fatal damage, it only forces my foes to catch some zees.""So you're not going to train?"
Inside Ace's mindscape, the ex-assassin was concentrating on conjuring a doorway that'll lead him out. "Why is nothing happening?" His desperation increases the more time passes. He had communicated with the Sloth Saint earlier and couldn't help but get the feeling that something bad was happening. Although he trusts his friends will be in good hands, he was still very much worried. "Ace...""Huh? Kisha! Is that you!?" "I... Finally... Reached... You..." "Where have you been? I can't seem to get out, what do I do?" "Not... Much... Time... To... Get... Out... Break..." He listened carefully to the voice that echoed in his head. "Break..." "Kisha? Break what!? Hey, Kisha!" "Argh!" Ace slammed his fist to the ground in a fit of rage, that was his only chance on finding out how to escape his subconscious. He grew even more restless and was too deep in his thoughts to notice a crack on the blank white floor beneath him. "Huh?" He looked down at the spot he struck earlier. "A c