Luis was in his room with the Aura Conduit Disk, practicing his aura control. He was now able to imbue aura to form three dots and move them across the intricate spiderweb design simultaneously without losing control and having them dissipate.
However, it required his full focus, so any distractions would cause the aura to dissipate. Still, the disk allowed Luis to lose only a small amount of aura when losing control while using it, it was way less compared to imbuing his limbs for practice or trying to reach the next tier. Allowing him to take less time to gather the aura back through breathing methods.
As Luis started imbuing aura to form a fourth dot, the sound of his mother calling made him lose focus. He heard her yelling from downstairs.
"Luis, your friends are here get down!"
Luis quickly got up, dressed and headed downstairs, where he saw Aelina playing with his younger siblings and her younger brother, Ardyn. Aelina wore an elegant white dress, while Ardyn her younger brother, a year younger than Luis's siblings was dressed in shorts and a plain white shirt.
Luis greeted them,
"Morning. Is it already time?"
"It's already one,"
Aelina responded.
"The showcase is gonna start in two hours, and it's not morning anymore."
"Oh, really? I think I was too focused on the disk,"
Luis replied in a surprised tone.
"Luis, this is Ardyn. I think you've only met him once when he was a bit younger,"
Aelina introduced.
"Hello, Ardyn. Also, I have to say, you really resemble your dad,"
Luis said, surprised.
"Nice to meet you Luis. I do hear that a lot,"
Ardyn replied.
"Are you excited for today? What's your blessing?"
Luis asked curiously, smiling.
"Ardyn's blessing can't be shown. It's Phoenix Wings, which is also what my second blessing is,"
Aelina explained.
"He's gonna say the same as your siblings that he has support blessings that help make the body stronger."
"What? I want that! Flying seems so cool," Luis said, envious.
"It's not like we can use them, though, so there's no point,"
Aelina said in a disappointed tone.
Before they could continue the conversation, Taran arrived with a broad grin through the front door.
"Morning, everyone! Am I late?"
Aelina shook her head.
"There's still time until the showcase. The stalls should be open right now, so let's go."
"Let's go, then,"
Aelina said, motioning for everyone to follow along.
It took the group ten minutes to get to where the stalls were set up. Vendors chatted, children ran around, and everyone talked about seeing cool blessings during the showcase. Luis's twin siblings and Ardyn also ran around, pointing at anything they thought was interesting.
Luis was keeping a close eye on them, but his focus shifted when he noticed a man in a cloak moving toward them. His steps were so quiet that Luis didn't notice him until he was right behind them.
Unknown to the Xoliti Clan and Phoenix Clan, when the empire went to get the Savrohgous blessing, they had brought Black Talons members with them. These operatives had received the Savrohgous blessing to help detect Phoenix blessings and a blessing from a creature called an Umbracryn a jet-black entity with claws for feet and hands, standing on two legs but with no head. It relied on temperature to locate enemies. What made it terrifying was its ability to turn into mist and remain undetected even by high-tier creatures.
Only people with blessings from unclassified creatures could detect them, but this was only the case if they were not on high alert. Over the years, with nothing significant happening, the vigilance of the three elite-tier Xoliti Clan members in the village had waned.
The Black Talons had formed a new division in their ranks that possessed both these abilities. They roamed alone, exploring places. If they found any Phoenix Clan members, they would initiate extraction and notify all nearby squads through their communication devices.
As the man approached, his attention locked onto Ardyn and Kael, whose auras unmistakably resembled those of the Phoenix Clan. His decision was made in an instant.
No one was able to react fast enough. The operative stepped forward with unmatched speed, grabbing Ardyn and Kael by the backs of their shirts with one hand.
"Let go!"
Aelina shouted, pulling at the two, but the operative's grip was too strong.
"Let go of him!"
Luis said while going to grab the man's hand holding Kael and Ardyn
The operative glanced at Luis, sensing no Phoenix blessings in him. He swung his free arm not forming a fist, just swinging but as soon as it connected with Luis, it sent him flying back, rolling on the ground twenty meters away.
After glancing at Aelina, the operative took out a small black device.
"There are three Phoenix clan members here, kid ones. That means there are more. Send in all nearby members. I will extract with two of the smaller ones."
Putting down his communication device, he glanced at Taran, who was taking deep breaths, panicking as he tried to loosen the soldier's grip as well.
"Let go, kid. Just like the other one, you're not a part of the Phoenix Clan. If you don't want to die, let go. It's none of your business."
Seeing that there were eyes on him and that Taran wasn't letting go, the soldier sprouted wings, preparing to fly.
"I told you to let go,"
he said, summoning claws and stabbing Taran in the heart with cold, indifferent eyes.
Transforming his claws back into a hand, he proceeded to hit Ardyn and Kael on the back of the head to knock them out. Then, looking at the scared girl Aelina he tried flicking her head with his finger to knock her out, his finger imbued with aura.
"Just nicely stay here for me."
To his surprise, he hit nothing but an illusion. "I see a blessing."
One thing Lira had always been taught by Sera was to use her illusions and run to get help in scary situations. Aelina had given the scared little girl a look, signaling her to run, and had gone behind the soldier, hidden by Lira's blessing.
But he could still sense her aura. Turning around, he punched Aelina, who was about to strike the soldier's head. The punch to her stomach sent her flying. Before she was punched she had infused aura in the feather in her pocket. The feather turned from white to red and then disintegrated.
The entire exchange had taken less than thirty seconds. It was enough time to attract attention from people nearby but the soldier had made sure to be louder when saying Phoenix clan members. He did this because everyone knew the Phoenix clan was being hunted down there were big bounties for them but above all else everyone knew what would happen to places that helped harbor Phoenix clan members there was already news of many such places being destroyed even if residents left were not members of the clan.
Afterward, as the soldier flew off at max speed, thinking inwardly,
"The kids actually fought back. They must have been trained. There might be a strong member here."
"Ardyn!"
Aelina screamed, trying to get up, watching helplessly as her brother was taken away.
Luis got to his feet a few seconds after being sent flying. With his vision blurred, he saw his brother being taken away, unable to do anything as the operative vanished into the sky.
Luis staggered back to his feet, his chest aching and his breath uneven. His head still spun from the hit, but his eyes remained fixed on the shrinking figure in the sky carrying Kael and Ardyn.
Helplessness overwhelmed Luis, he fell to his knees, his teeth clenched in frustration because he hadn't been able to do anything.
"Kael,"
he muttered in a hoarse voice.
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Kael's thoughts raced as the grip on his shirt tightened, lifting him off the ground. He turned to see who it was, but instead, he saw his brother being thrown to the ground with a single swing.
"LET GO!" he shouted, instinctively activating his blessing and trying to compose himself as he attempted to loosen the grip. But it was too strong. When neither Taran nor Aelina could loosen it, he began to panic, thrashing around wildly. Suddenly, his vision darkened. The last thing he saw was Taran's body collapsing, his eyes lifeless.
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Ardyn's frame trembled as he turned to see who had picked him up from behind. Something about the man terrified him.
He tried to move, to escape like Kael was trying, but his body refused to cooperate. He opened his mouth to call for help, but all that came out was a choked whimper.
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Taran's heart pounded as he watched the soldier drag Kael and Ardyn away. His mind screamed at him to do something, but his body froze in fear. Finally, Taran forced himself to do something he rushed forward trying to loosen the man's grip.
Taran had heard the soldier's warning he knew what would happen if he helped Phoenix Clan members. But he still gripped the soldier's hand, desperately trying to make him let go.
When the soldier told him to release his grip if he wanted to live and that this wasn't his concern, Taran's heart raced. Panic left him unable to speak, but he held on because Luis and Aelina were his friends.
Taran didn't even have time to react to what came next. The soldier gave him a chance, but after Taran refused to let go, his claws pierced Taran's chest. Pain exploded through him before it quickly faded, his vision darkening as everything around him disappeared. Taran had questioned if he had made the right choice.
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Lira trembled as she watched everything unfold. She had always been told to use her blessing to run when in danger, but right now, she couldn't move. She had seen Luis get struck, and now she was watching the soldier pierce Taran's chest. Uncertainty and fear overwhelmed her.
She glanced at Aelina, who gave her a look one that told her exactly what to do. Guilt churned inside Lira as she turned and ran, tears welling in her eyes. She had been told that getting help from strangers was useless; she needed to find Phoenix Clan members.
Before fleeing, she created an illusion of herself and Aelina, then used her blessing to make them invisible. Placing the invisibility on Aelina completely drained her aura, leaving her physically exhausted as she ran.
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Aelina's body trembled as she tried to get up. Pain radiated from her stomach. She screamed her brother's name, but she couldn't do anything. She couldn't chase after him—the feather had drained all her aura. All she could do was hope her father would arrive in time.
Luis slowly walked over to Taran's unmoving body. His skin was pale, his eyes lifeless. Luis couldn't bring himself to stand beside him. He was frozen in place.
He turned to see Aelina on the ground, clutching her stomach, her eyes staring into the sky. Time felt like it had frozen. The chattering of the village had stopped. There was nothing but silence.
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Ten kilometers east of the village, Freyheart, Aelina's father, was on a hunt. He stood at six feet eight inches tall, his muscular frame intimidating, his blond hair falling just past his ears. His black eyes appeared cloudy, making it impossible to tell where he was looking. He wore a simple cream-colored tunic, dark-fitted trousers, and sturdy leather boots.
Freyheart had been sent to kill a high-tier creature that had wandered too far from its territory. Sera had sensed it earlier, and since Freyheart was the fastest person in the village, he was chosen for the task. However, without blessings for tracking or reconnaissance, he had spent significant time searching for the creature.
He could have handled the task faster, but he couldn't use blessings connected to the Phoenix Clan, which slowed him considerably. Freyheart had a rough idea of what to look for, as he knew the high-tier creatures in the nearby regions.
Before he could continue his search, his wing's blessing activated automatically. For a split second, he was confused, then he felt it a feather had returned to his wings.
His eyes glowed red, his hair turned crimson, and all the blessings the Xoliti Clan had used to disguise him vanished. His wings outstretched, he disappeared from where he had been standing.