No idea if this turned out well. I literally wrote it stream-of-conscious and am way too tired to read through it. Hopefully it turned out well.
[Yuan 5: Blood and Family]
Even after Yixuan Shan was gone, it was some time until Antonius was able to leave Yuan. Though their gamble in coming to Yuan had paid off, many of the legionnaires that they came with were still looking for their own prizes. As the rest of the camp prepared for their final stretch of time there, Antonius found most of his time being spent in training.
His mother had just reached Foundation Establishment and needed to to get used to her newfound strength and speed. With so many years of experience behind her, she had things much easier than he did. Antonius had jumped from the first heavenstage to the tenth and he had only just learnt how to fight.
Trying to get used to his new abilities while trying to incorporate Yixuan Shan's treasures was really hard. Right from the start, he put aside the Sand-Spitting Marble and the Fish-bone Mourning Flute. Those would take time to master and that certainly wouldn't happen while they were still at Yuan.
Instead, he focused on combat skills and the use of what he had begun calling the Wave-summoning Silver Scale that allowed him to use Yixuan Shan's personal technique, albeit at a much reduced level of power.
Their training took place in the form of spars at a flat ground far enough from camp not to be a distraction but close enough to call for reinforcements in the case of enemies. His mother and father were always there but every now and then others joined them as well.
At this point, Antonius had spared against several legionnaires though only a few of them were specially memorable. He'd fought against Oriana from the 43rd legion who had long ago stopped him in front of their legion headquarters when he had hoped to join up. She was in the fifth heavenstage and it had been fun beating her - entirely because of that incident.
There was also Corvina Taurus from the 96th Legion. Primarily a diviner, Antonius had a feeling that Aunt Ariadne had put her up to it for whatever reason based on her smirk throughout the match. She wasn't any more skilled than he was and he won fairly easily with his greater speed and strength.
At one point, he'd also sparred with Aunt Ariadne herself. He'd tried to use wave-summoning to get the upper hand against her but she'd literally strung him up in the air and lectured him on everything he was doing wrong. She was in the Fifth Pillar so it made sense, but it was still slightly annoying to lose to her.
Most of his spars were against his parents. Against his father, he mostly lost at first. He was only at the seventh heaven-stage and was incredibly slow thanks to his personal arts but he was incredibly durable. He only had to catch Antonius in a lock once to render him unable to apply any force and escape.
However once he began to pick up on his father's tricks and how to counter them, the battles were more even. The difference just an increase in capabilities could make wasn''t enough to entirely invalidate skill. He wondered how powerful his battles against his father would go if Antonius completely mastered his fighting style?
Against his mother of course, he lost. She was faster than him and stronger than him by a large margin. She was mainly a ranged fighter so she didn't have a coherent style in close range but she seemed to have an endless bag of tricks. Antonius recognised locks from his father, what seemed like spear techniques from Aunt Ariadne and dozens of other tricks that he couldn't recognise.
Quite frankly, battle against her was a real lesson of humility. She was overwhelmingly powerful just like Aunt Ariadne was but she managed to hold back against him just enough that he felt like he might be able to fight her but then he'd be on the ground and realise that she had everything under control from the very start. Fighting against her taught him a lot, but for her own training she turned to other centurions.
The fights she had against Aunt Ariadne were incredible to watch but the fight that Antonius was looking forward to the most was against Auxiliary Nicomedes of the 96th Legion. He was recruited about half a decade ago and had very recently reached the first pillar himself. What Antonius was interested in however was his techniques.
Like Antonius' own new wave-summoning techniques, Nicomedes practiced the Flow-Freezing Art that allowed him to freeze and manipulate fluids as weapons. While they were quite different from his own arts - for one, Nicomedes had to rely on a storage ring to summon water that he would then freeze - there were still enough similarities that he might be able to learn a thing or two.
"Are you ready to begin?" The auxiliary called as he created a large ice shuriken in each hand. His mother drew three arrows and prepared her bow. They were close enough to reach the other within moments which was a disadvantage for his mother but Antonius had seen how little that slowed her down.
"I'm ready," She replied. As soon as the words left her mouth, the ice shuriken left Nicomedes' hand and flew in an arc towards her. Antonius turned to look towards him but he was gone and there was a clang as the shuriken were intercepted with arrows. He then realised that his mother had moved as well.
They were both incredibly fast. Enough that Antonius could only follow them because he sat at a distance with his father and could see the whole battleground at once. Nicomedes had tried to move closer to his mother and had conjured frozen swords. She had elected to move away by jumping into the air and firing more arrows at him in answer.
He deflected the arrows with his blades and then transformed them into disks. Both of them flew towards her position but from different directions. They seemed to be drawn towards her slightly and Antonius realised that they would cut her whether she dodged up or down.
Instead, she deflected them with arrows and fired an answering arrow back. The fight continued like this with both fighters trying to gain an advantage until the ground was littered with both arrows and weapons of ice.
Finally, his mother took to the air once more but rather than strike at her with weapons like before, Nicomedes just grinned and pointed a hand at her in an exaggerated motion. As if pushed up by his movement, Antonius saw all the ice scattered in the field suddenly take to the sky.
His eyes widened and he turned to his father who didn't seem concerned. Then his mother just curled up in a ball while still in the air to protect her face and body. Bronze threads from her clothing elongated and wrapped around her like a cocoon.
Then the ice shards hit her. Most of them deflected off of her but a few managed to penetrate her armor enough to cut. Antonius winced at every hit. Then the barrage ended and his mother pulled out of the cocoon, with cuts all over her but otherwise unhurt.
Then she disappeared and then reappeared right in front of Nicomedes. Having focused on the attack, the man had no time to conjure a weapon to defend himself. Even as he did, she held an arrow to his head and he froze. He smiled and dropped the half-conjured weapon, raising his hands in defeat.
As Antonius rushed to the battle site and his father came back behind him, he saw his mother gesture with the arrow and the smile turned into a smirk as the frozen weapons that were even now falling down, avoided the two fighters where it could have easily targeted them.
"Are you two okay?" He asked with concern as we arrived. Though he addressed the remark to both of them, his eyes were on his mother. This battle was much more real than the spars he was used to seeing.
"I'm fine, Antonius." Eleanora replied with a smile. "Just a few cuts and bruises."
"Don't worry kid," Nicomedes said, grinning at his mother. "I was sure to hold back."
His mother rolled her eyes. "Yes, we all held back." She said to him before smiling at Antonius in reassurance. He felt his father land next to them who then proceeded to look over both participants with a critical eye.
"Doesn't seem too bad," He noted finally. "I think you weren't trying to win, Nicodemes. Did I catch that wrong?"
"You aren't wrong," He agreed, sheepishly. "It's more that I didn't want to throw around too many ice weapons. I'll need to collect them again which is a pain."
Antonius looked across the field and looked at the large number of arrows and ice weapons in the field. "Do we have to pick all of that up?" He asked with a frown.
His mother sighed. "That's one issue with using projectiles." She said, looking around at the arrows that she used. Then she brightened as something occurred to her. "Still, I'm a centurion now. I can just get one of the newbies to pick them up for me in return for contribution points."
"I don't think I can order people around," Nicomedes pointed out. "One of the many restrictions of being an auxiliary."
Antonius' father coughed. "Well, we do have a newbie right here with who would be happy to help in exchange for a few pointers." His father glanced towards him with a smirk.
Though he very much didn't like the direction this conversation was going, Antonius nodded with a smile. "I don't mind helping out." He replied, while hoping his father was bluffing.
"I can just handle the collection for you, Nicomedes." His mother interrupted, holding a hand to her head. "All banter aside, it's been a late day and I think I'm figuring out the limits of my new stamina. Shall we just head back?"
Nicomedes smile and nods. "That's a great idea," He replies cheerfully. "Still, I caught that bit about advice. Was it related to your wave-summoning silver scale?"
Antonius nodded. "Yeah, that's what gives me access to my water abilities." He glanced at his mother in worry. He hadn't seen her tired very often.
His father walked over to his mother and placed a hand on her forehead and frowned. "I think you're burning up." He said with a frown. "We need to get you looked at."
"That sounds like such a useful technique," Nicomedes continued. "I have to carry liquids with me but you can just summon it out of thin air right? Plus there are healing aspects to it as well."
Antonius frowned at him and glanced at his mother. "Can we have this discussion some other time? I think my mom is in trouble."
His mother frowned and stepped forwards, then she stumbled. His father caught her and steadied her. She looked up with an intense expression of hate that caused Antonius to flinch. "You poisoned me," She growled at Nicomedes but she could do nothing but scowl.
Antonius' felt a chill go down his spine. His father picked up his mother and turned to rush towards the camp but a knife of ice pierced his feet and he stumbled with his mother. "No, no, none of that." Nicomedes said. "Can't have you raising the alarm now, can we? I guess it's about time to use this."
He held his hand forward to summon something from his storage ring, but Antonius didn't wait to see what it was. He summoned all of Yixuan Shan's power and struck Nicomedes with a wave of water.
"I'm Foundation Establishment," Nicomedes commented idly as he froze the very water that Antonius had summoned and caused it to crash to the ground. "There is literally nothing you can do to me. Your mother was the only threat here and I've neutralised her."
Antonius turned and ran. He grabbed his mother and father while trying to use water to push himself forward even faster. If he could just get close enough to the camp, they could get help-
The water that should have been pushing him forward froze and he crashed on the ground as a frozen weight kept him in place. His parents landed in front of him and all he could do was look at them in front of him. He struggled to get up but he couldn't. The ice on his back weighed so much...
A shiver ran through him as the very qi in the air froze and he couldn't sense any qi whether in the air or anyone in camp. He could still feel Nicomedes clearly as he walked over to him, taking his time. Somehow, he had managed to cut them off from outside qi and he could feel whatever caused it in his hand. It was an intense source of qi with a sense of ice and blood.
Antonius stopped struggling, realising that there was no way he could escape the way he was now. The man had to be actively keeping him on the ground somehow since the amount of ice on his back shouldn't weigh as much as seemed to. He couldn't use his wave-summoning carelessly either, since that seemed to just give him more ammunition.
He took a deep breath and checked on his parents. His mother was unconscious on the ground, turning paler by the second. His father was right next to her and with the ice dagger in his foot, he was quickly turning pale too. Antonius grimaced. So he'd have to find a way out somehow and quickly.
"What do you want from me?" Antonius called out, trying to keep his voice steady. He saw Nicomedes' boots stop in front of his face and then he knelt down. As he did, Antonius saw whatever he was holding in his hand. A frozen rose seemingly made of red ice - blood, he realised.
"Oh good, you are safe." The man answered instead. "This kind of thing isn't as fun when you are dead." He placed a hand on the ground, close enough to Antonius that could almost touch him. Then he summoned water from his storage ring and though Antonius tried to move, he couldn't stop the water from expanding into ice and freezing his hands in place.
"What are you doing to me?" Antonius asked as he struggled to move. The man ignored him as he reached toward Antonius' neck. A feeling of understanding filled him as he realised that the man was trying to reach for the wave-summoning silver fin that he kept around his neck.
Rather than wait for the man to reply or worse just take his only weapon, Antonius drew upon his qi and summoned the biggest wave he could - right between his neck and the man's outstretched arm.
Instinctively, Nicomedes froze the wave and now the only part of Antonius' body that wasn't frozen was his head. But the silver scale was trapped within the ice and Nicomedes would probably have to move the ice to get to it.
"You are going to keep doing that, aren't you?" Nicomedes asked with a frown, confirming Antonius' suspicions. He then just shrugged and created a frozen dagger. "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to kill you then."
Antonius blinked. "Wait, wait!" He called out and the man paused. "You want the scale right? If you leave us alone, you can just take it! Just let us go!"
Nicomedes frowned. "You realise that all of you are part of my prize, right?" He asked him. "The only reason I blew my cover was because I figured I could get you, your mother
and your artifacts at the same time."
Antonius grimaced. He was blood path then. The aura of his artifact had put that in his mind already, but he was really hoping that it wasn't true. "Cover? Who are you working for?" He asked.
Nicomedes rolled his eyes. "The blood cannibals of course," He replied. "What other blood path group would join you?"
"I thought you guys couldn't eat our bodies," Antonius quickly pointed out. "Isn't our bronze terrible for you?"
"Your mother isn't of your clan," He said, shrugging. "And there were several poisons I've been hoping that might be able to break down your bronze blood. Who knows, I might make a breakthrough."
Antonius' eyes brightened. "Wait, wait!" He called out to him. "Let me join you. If you leave us alive, I'll join the blood path and you'll gain an ally!"
Nicomedes raised an eyebrow. "I was wondering if you had a plan or if you were just stalling for time," He replied, sighing. "If the best you could come up with was
that…" He shook his head and raised the ice dagger.
"I have a reasoning you'll want to hear." Antonius replied. "Even if you decide to kill me, at least you'll be entertained. You want that, don't you?"
Nicomedes paused and considered. "Okay, sure. Let's hear it then." He finally said. "Let's see what you come up with."
"Well, it's simple. You see..." As he spoke, Antonius summoned a wave of water and aimed it straight at the frozen rose in his hand. At this distance, he might just be able to hit it and remove the barrier that kept the camp from sensing their qi.
It froze in the air and then was casually pushed aside by Nicomedes. Before Antonius could react any more, he sent the frozen dagger in his hand straight towards Antonius and nicked his head. Immediately, a strong sense of weakness spread throughout him.
"I'll admit, I didn't think you could use that scale while your arms were bound but did you really think I would have stepped near you if I wasn't confident in my chances to escape?" He heard Nicomedes say as his vision blurred. "Hello? Hello? Hmm. I thought someone at tenth heavenstage would last longer. Note to self-"
Then his hearing stopped working and he felt himself drift into darkness. It wasn't painful really. It just felt like this cloud of weariness that crushed you so completely that you might even forget to breathe.
Antonius could see how this poison could work on his mother.
Poison?
Wait.
No.
No.
I need to wake up.
No.
N-
….
….
….
….
….
No.
Power surged within Antonius and it grew and grew and grew. In a moment, he was as strong as he was in the morning fresh before any spars. Then he grew past his mother's power and then he surged so high that even Alcaeus the Strong seemed to be weak before him.
Then he turned his focus outwards, feeling the ice spread throughout the field with poisons flowing inside of them and drops of water that flowed with the wind. He could feel the flow of blood within his mother and father. He could feel how the poison inside them damaged them, making them weaker and easier to digest.
He could feel the blood struggle the same way within his own body and how his bloodline tried to break it down futilely. Just outside, Nicomedes had shattered the ice around him and even now reached towards his neck to grab the scale for his own. Still, he seemed frozen as the moment moved on.
Antonius could feel the flow of
his blood too. As it flowed through a cursed and twisted body unable to draw power from anything other than the blood of other humans. He could sense the poison within him as well, but his body was adapted to it and resisted the poison effortlessly.
Perhaps, he could replicate that into his parent's bodies-
Antonius, my power is already fading as I stretch the moment. I only have a single action. It needs to be enough to save you and summon aid. That action will not truly save their lives.
Yixuan Shan's voice flowed through his mind and he reluctantly focused his mind. There was the barrier that Nicomedes had set up that Antonius was certain would be enough to draw others to his aid, especially if he could do so with a display of power.
That will do nicely.
Yixuan Shan drew upon his power and summoned a spout of water infused with incredible healing capabilities. He felt Nicomedes react to it but there was nothing he could do. For a second, a healing technique worthy of a Nascent Soul filled up the barrier and it popped like a bubble.
For a second his senses expanded.
He felt the water fall and get absorbed by his body, rapidly healing to a state where he could if not move then at least survive.
He felt Nicomedes run away from the power, deciding that what he might gain there wasn't worth the risk of facing the source of the power and whoever it might attract.
Far away in the camp, he felt the powerful presence of Legate Alcaeus as he drew upon all of his famous strength to reach their training ground as soon as he could.
Then the awareness shrunk to his body and he felt his mind fading into unconsciousness.
I had hoped to watch over you longer, but so soon I must depart. Live well Antonius and this time truly - goodbye.
* * * * * *
When Antonius next awoke, his body ached all over and he felt like he barely had the energy to stand. Moving around, he realised that he was on a bed somewhere but that was strange. Where would they find a bed in Yuan-
His eyes opened as he remembered what had happened. He struggled to get up but a sharp pain accompanied the movement and he fell back down. "Don't move too much," A strong voice interrupted him. "You are still wounded."
Antonius ignored it and forced himself to turn until he came face to face with the large form Legate Alcaeus who looked down at him with a frown. "My mom? My dad?" He asked, his thoughts tumbling out. He took a deep breath and asked a proper question. "Are they okay?"
Legate Alcaeus grimaced. "They are alive," He told him and Antonius nodded. "But they are still unconscious. Though they were also healed by your Life-Saving Treasure, the poison damaged them far more than it did you. I don't know if or when they will wake up."
Antonius closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he turned his face towards the bed. He thought of his mother and his father. He thought about how suddenly an ally had turned against them and he thought about Yixuan Shan's final gift.
Then he screamed into the bed. He didn't know how long he did it. It probably wasn't that long, but he just knew that it was long enough that all of the emotions he was feeling was wrung out. Then after he quieted down and was too exhausted to even think of what to do next, he felt one of Alcaeus' strong hands on his back.
"Are you feeling better now, young man?" The legate asked him carefully. "Let us speak of what will come next."
Antonius turned back towards him. "What happens next?" He asked him, his voice strained. He wasn't sure whether that was because he just screamed so hard or because it was already damaged from the poison. "How long will I be this weak?"
"Most of your weakness will fade quickly." He answered, looking at you gravely. "You should be up and moving within the week, however you will still be weak for at least a few years. Almost certainly until the trials."
Antonius grimaced. "The trails. What will happen to my parents then? Will they still be hunted after then?"
Alcaeus nodded sadly. "The Fifth Sea hunters will hunt the hurt and healthy both equally," He replied. "However, this happened under my watch. It wasn't an enemy or a danger that hurt you, it was someone who should have been your ally and I will take responsibility for it."
A part of Antonius really wanted to blame him after he made that admission but instead he just nodded back. "I would be grateful for any aid you could give me, Legate Alcaeus." He told him. Blaming people would help no one. He needed to focus on making sure both he and his parents made it through the battle alive.
Upon hearing his reply, the Legate gave him a look he couldn't entirely read. Then the look was gone as he continued. "For the return trip to the clan's lands, I will give both you and your parents my personal attention." He said. "After returning, my attention will be spent on preparations for the coming trials but after them, I swear that I will aid you in healing your mother and father."
Antonius inclined his head in gratitude. It was more than he expected. "Thank you, Legate Alcaeus." He replied. "I will ensure that all of us will survive the trails so that your promise will not be in vain."
Legate Alcaeus nodded. "What are your plans for the trials?"
Antonius frowned. "I was hoping I would be permitted to stay behind the ninety sixth legion's arrays. I believe I may qualify for protection with my new-found cultivation level."
"You quite likely do," The Legate agreed. "I will speak to Wilhemina to ensure it and I will make sure that your father is allowed behind them as well. That should give you reasonable chances of survival. What of your mother?"
"She shouldn't be a target for the trials," Antonius replied, thinking it over. "I assume it would be possible to leave her in a secure location with a mortal trusted mortal attendant?"
"The Dawn Fortress will have none of the clan save the Archigetes and is unlikely to be targeted by the hunters. I have a room with it's own defences and a trusted staff that I will make available to you for the duration." The Legate offered and Antonius nodded quickly in acceptance.
"Thank you for everything, Legate Alcaeus." Antonius replied. This was beyond what he expected. At this point, he was likely better off than before in his chances of survival.
"If you wish to convey your gratitude, then survive and give back to the clan." Alcaeus told him and Antonius nodded in acceptance of that. "I will give you the details of a foundation establishment healer who once took care of me long ago. Speak to him about your parent's current medical needs. We will speak of full treatment once the trials are over."
Antonius nodded and for a moment he looked at the Legate's face as he studied him in turn. So much had happened so suddenly, but there was still hope in the horizon. As his head fell back on the bed and he began to drift into unconsciousness, only one thought crossed his mind.
His parents had protected him for so long. Now it would be his turn to protect them and ensure that they get better.
He wouldn't fail.
He'd have his family back.
