The location was the ark of the Nightshade clan, the Mini-Cruiser. 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 Farrow 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 I go from here?" It has been two days since Tyson and Lex accompanied Kaz to see the elders. Vladimir had awakened a day ago, and the ark's repairs were completed. Ernie had finished the repairs ahead of time and even went the extra step to add a couple of upgrades. For starters, the Mini-Cruiser lacked any cannons for battles against other Arks. Although these battles rarely occur on 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 Tyson.
"Seth." Inside a white room of infinite space, Tyson 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 recognise my voice anymore." Tyson'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, Tyson didn't gaze at the woman with the lust that most men would. His eyes became teary in an instant as he ran to the woman and embraced her. "Mother..." The woman smiled as she petted her son's head. "How are your brothers doing?" Tyson had dug his head into 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." "Mum, i
"Alright, kid, show me what you got." "Kill Switch!" Harold effortlessly blew the Anima attack away with his dark Anima hands. Tyson gritted his teeth. "Nothing's happening." His frustration was evident to his friends. They were currently at the arena where Tyson had fought Elder Baraya earlier. Tyson was receiving training from Harold on how to harness his elemental anima. "As much as I hate to admit it," said Lex, who was sitting in the middle of Kaz and Jacob. "Seeing how the demon spawn is struggling to unlock his element makes me respect the historian and that shorty for unlocking theirs a bit." "Wow," said Kaz. "Who knew you could make compliments?" "I know, right?" Lex asks. "I feel like throwing up." Tyson had been following Harold's guide to unlocking his element. "Close your eyes, and try to sense all the shadows around you." Some people unlock their elements easily, and at a young age, others have to go through various trainings to reach that level.
"And that, my friends, was how Tyson and I met." Ernie finished his narration for his clanmates. They were currently taking a stroll on the streets of Border Town. "Wow," said Farrow. "Sir Tyson learned a lot from you and Sir Kaz. "Yep, Kaz always saw the good in him. Being an assassin may have been his birthright, but it wasn't his calling." "You inspired the captain to go on an adventure!" Vladimir exclaims. "Vladimir, are you crying?" Maggie asks. "What? No!" The former district commander refuted. I was just thinking of all the training I have to do; there were so many that I started sweating before I even got the chance to train. "Right." She rolls her eyes. "Anyway, shouldn't we get back to the Ark?" She asks. "In case of Tyson calls, we left all our phones there, you know." Ernie places his arm around the historian's neck. "Relax, Master. I can call you Magster, right?" "I uh.." "Great! You don't have to worry about Tyson, Kaz, or what his name is. Th
"Huh?" Tyson blinked his eyes. "Where am I?" He found himself in a white, empty room with no walls. "Am I on 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." Tyson's head felt foggy as he began to piece out what he remembered last. Jacob points his sniper at Tyson as Harold's purple Anima hands emerge 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, who took out Lex and Kaz. "Sorry, lad, it was so we could proceed with unlocking' your second ayer... 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 your kids too badly." "That's reassuring..." Tyson said it in a sarcastic tone. "Plus, how are we able to communicate?" "It's thanks to Kisha." "Kisha?" "
""Fiendlow!" Kaz and Lex 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?" Lex and Kaz took a trip to their subconscious thanks to Kisha's abilities to locate their second layer, which was buried deep within. That was the first step in harnessing the second layer of astral energy within oneself. The next step required the two of them to concentrate and channel all their astral energy until it seeped into the second layer, thus granting them full access to it. They spent 2 hours doing that while Tyson remained stuck in his subconscious. "I'm 90% done." Said Kaz. "We're ready," Lex reassures. "Good," Jacob pulls out his sniper rib. "Cause from the look of things, we're in for one heck of a fight." "What do we do with him?" Lex asked, referring to Tyson. "I think that traitorous bitch locked him up in his subconscious to stop him from being a part
UNKNOWN LOCATION A woman wearing a brown cloak stood in front of a shabby building, sitting in the middle of a deserted village. She was attracted by the faint noise of movements from within the household. With her sword strapped around her waist, she made her way inside. What welcomed her was the unpleasant sight of two dead bodies—a man and a woman. "What are you doing in a place like this?" She said this to a boy who stood atop the bodies. "You shouldn't be holding something like that, boy." She pointed at the knife he was holding. Seeing that it was covered with blood, it didn't take much for her to realise that the boy standing in front of her had just killed those two people. "Are they your parents?" The boy shakes his head. He was hesitant to speak up at first until he saw the radiant smile on the woman's face. There was no malice on sight; he felt like he could trust her. "They kidnapped me." "I see. Well then, let's get this off of you." She crept
"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, Tyson, 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 Tyson. 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..." Tyson slammed the glowing orb onto the dark orb on the floor and a shock