Alcaeus Indrath

Revelation

Alcaeus Indrath

My feet were crushing the ground with every step I took. My sandals long gone, I had no intention of holding back my anger.

Mother had refused to answer any of my questions. Saying 'It's not your time yet' again and again. Even Windsom didn't reply to me. I have only one choice left. I'll go ask the one person who I know knows everything and force him to answer. 

Don't worry Sis...I'm coming.

I had arrived at the gates of the Indrath Castle. There were 7 guards stationed there, probably several more in hiding.

"Move!" I yelled at them, not willing to entertain any interruptions.

"We can't do that, Lord Alcaeus. Lord Indrath has instructed that he doesn't wish to be disturbed." One of them replied as they moved to block the entrance, and readied their weapons if need be.

"Disturbed!? DISTURBED!?! I SAID MOVE!!!" I stopped for a second and then burst step to the middle one, sending a punch to his stomach.

However, before I could land it, two others, one from each side of mine sent their spears to my face, forcing me to dodge and back off. Enraged, I gathered a ball of pure mana and engulfed it in fire and wind, aiming to destroy the entrance and force 'him' to come out. As a response to my actions, 4 of the guards released their realmheart and created a separate dimension around the gate. Without hesitation, I let my attack go forward. I knew it would crash against the dimension barrier and break it, so I hid myself right behind it and prepared another attack of the same magnitude. This time, they probably sensed another ball of mana being created and sent one of them to thrust at me from below. He was holding his sword like a lance and the tip of it was covered in condensed mana. 

Since he was in realmheart, I suspected there was also a bit of aether in his attack. I can't tank this. Calming myself a little and activating realmheart, I forced the new ball in my hand to condense until it was as small as a marble. When his attack reached me, I spun to my right, barely avoiding it. In the same breath, I didn't stop spinning and pushed my marble into his back. He let out a 'tch' as he was blown miles away to the north. 

By the time I looked back down, their dimension barrier and my initial attack was gone, replaced by a mana prison making its way towards me. As guards they had mastered this technique and honed it to perfection. I knew that even if I dodged, it'll just follow me unless I kill its wielder. However, I wasn't here to kill anyone, especially my own clan members. 

'Tch, this will hurt a lot, but its now or never.' It was time to use some techniques I learned from the book. 

I started burst stepping rapidly and randomly within a 200m radius. Simultaneously, two pairs of wings of the purest fire mana surrounded by lightning formed on my back. This was a technique that I should've had no access to, it was technique of the Phoenix clan. The mana was bound together so proficiently that it started to resemble lava. The reason why I was constantly using burst step was to prevent them from pin-pointing exactly what it is that I'm doing. About 5 seconds later, with the mana cage still chasing me all around the place, my wings were complete. My back was burning, sending shivers all over my body. My legs and upper body hurt from the repeated use of burst step. Achieving a trance-like state, I activated realmheart and encased remaining guards in a dimension barrier. But even if I take them down, I could sense a dozen more on the sidelines, waiting to step in if anything should go wrong. 

There was only one path for me. I had to remove my current foes out of the equation and enter the palace at the same time. I let my wings go. They detached from my back, turned into mini-dragons and swiftly started attacking the guards. A surprise attack from condensed fire, almost akin to lava combined with lightning was too much, and the mana cage collapsed due to lack of concentration. I finally stopped moving and corked my body in a 30-degree angle below the horizontal line. Squatting my legs, I gathered mana in them. The process was magnified due to my realmheart. 

Recognizing an instant where there was no one in my immediate path, and I had enough mana in my legs, I pushed my body forward like a rocket. Even after taking off towards the gate, I forced my feet to disperse wind tornadoes that will further increase my speed and distract the guards. I dispelled the barrier and broke through the gate. But I didnt stop. Once on the ground, I sprinted towards the throne room as fast as I could. The guards were having difficulty to catch up due to my mirage walk. Not to mention, I purposely left traces of my mana in connected rooms, forcing them to search everywhere. 

I couldn't spot Signiz at the entrance of the throne room. Clearing my mind of any doubts, I burst through the door and arrived in the huge hall which held few memories for me. 

It was empty, except for one lone figure sitting on the only chair in the room. Glaring straight into his eyes, not bothering to hide my frustration and rage, I spoke.

"Tell. Me. Everything." No more words were needed. He knew exactly what I was talking about. 

In an instant he was in front of me, making me flinch backwards. Shit...! He didn't stop time... that's just how fast he is. I couldn't even sense him move. 

"Alcaeus Indrath...my son." His face went a scowl to sad smile directed at me. The guards had arrived here, but he motioned them to leave us.

"...Father." I grit my teeth.

"Come, let's go to my room." The moment he said it, I realized that I hadn't come here in vain. Letting out a sigh of relief, I followed him and we quickly arrived in his personal quarters. But I had no time to admire the beauty of this room, I needed answers.

"Alcaeus, I had banished Agrona to Alacrya while you were asleep. The Vritra clan and a few of their affiliates followed him. You know what was the relationship between him and Sylvia, am I correct?" He stopped and I nodded. "My spies recently discovered that Agrona had managed to create half-Vritras. He achieved this through the medium of forced breeding. Lessers that could, with enough numbers, rival an Asura. Deciding it was time to stop his madness, I sent an elite squad to capture him and bring him back as a prisoner. Sylvia found out about this mission and...she left to chase her former beloved." 

Taking in everything he said, there was a torrent of emotions going through my mind. Including that scene I saw in the abyss. But there was one question that triumphed all others...

"Why...Why didn't you stop her?" My gaze no longer contained the determined look with which I had breached this castle. 

"Before I realized what she was doing, she had already...The guards tried to stop her, including some members from the Thyestes clan. But she is my daughter, she knocked everyone out and escaped to Alacrya." Father had a guilty look as he told me. I grit my teeth and fell to my knees, punching my ground in frustration.

"Why did you banish Agrona in the first place? Please, Father. I want the whole truth." I pleaded.

He was in thought for a long time, maybe even half an hour. Eventually, his face removed all emotion and turned blank. 

"Stand up." He ordered me. I did as he told. He held out a finger a few centimeters away from my forehead. "As per your wish, I'm going to tell you everything. But you must promise, no matter what, always remember who you are. You're Myre's son, you're Sylvia's younger brother." He had a stern look on his face, indicating his decision was final. I really was going to receive the full truth.

"You're forgetting one more thing, Father." I smiled gently. "I'm also Kezess Indrath's son."

Returning my smile, he allowed his finger to meet my skin. 

The world turned black, and then all kinds of colors filled it to the brim. 

Bombarded with the real truth, I had no time to process anything as I watched the events of centuries ago through my Father's eyes.

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