Ascendants

Raiden Alaric

I looked over at Bill, then slowly put my left foot forward, right foot back, raised my hands, and subtly hopped back and forth on each foot. His face turned pale as his eyes widened.

In that instant, I made my move.

I hammered my leg at his unprotected ribs. My torso turned forcefully first, rotating at the waist while my right arm raised for counterbalance. I pivoted my hip strongly as my left foot planted with a twist and driving push downward. I felt every fiber of muscle wrapping around my thigh and calf, from quadriceps to crunched hamstring now springing open like a piston. My toes pointed back at him, aimed like daggers for maximum penetration, starting a devastating arc toward his side. The light sole of my worn shoe cut through space as my weight shifted behind the driving momentum of my hip and angled leg.

He witnessed the soon-to-be-ruined architecture of his ribcage. Hip torque, knee drive, ankle lock, all force vectors syncing into eight pounds of airborne hardened leather bound for his open side. His face winced as fiery agony lanced up his side, his ribs giving an audible crack at impact.

Nailed it.

He grunted, grabbing his side and doubling over. Tony watched him fall.

"What the f—"

My right cross cut him off. My fist cut through the air, aimed directly at his left cheek. My shoulder turned first, cocking my right arm back behind my head, elbow raised high. My right foot pivoted to add torque while my left foot stepped forward, planting solidly. I could feel the rippling of every muscle fiber in my shoulder and bicep as my coiling arm sprang forward like a viper. My fingers curled into a hardened fist split seconds before smashing into his left jawline.

I turned to Mateo. He jumped after catching my gaze, frozen as he watched me hit the other two with their own techniques.

For you, my dear Mateo, I wasn't going to do you the disservice of hitting you with your own attacks, I'd treat you just as I'd treated them. On second thought, I'd give you both their techniques. I rushed forward and charged an uppercut for his body, making impact through his poor defense. I followed up with a spinning sidekick to the same spot.

As he fell back against a trash bin, he vomited into his own lap before losing consciousness. I heard Bill's footsteps coming from behind. I spun around just in time to see him throwing another roundhouse.

A golden opportunity presented itself. I threw a spinning back kick toward his leg, my heel landing directly on his kneecap. The two colliding forces held still for only a fraction of a second, then his knee gave and bent backward with a snap. He screamed in pain, rolling backward into the wall holding his ruined leg.

Tony threw another jab. I pulled my head back just in time, receiving only a small graze on my chin. Then he went on full offensive assault. I responded in kind, bobbing and weaving all his shots as he threw quick jabs and straights with the occasional cross or uppercut. I landed a few jabs and straights of my own, he grunted at every hit.

"What the fuck are you?" he spat blood from his mouth. "Wipe that grin off your face, you fucking lunatic!"

We continued exchanging blows. He landed one or two, but hadn't been able to avoid any of mine. My heart continued threatening to explode from my chest with each exchange.

Then I felt something tug at my leg, Bill grabbing it, trying to pull me down. Tony noticed and took advantage of my opening, landing several blows to my face and abdomen. I spartan-kicked him backward, causing him to stumble and giving me time to deal with Bill. I twisted my leg out, sat on top of him, and threw three right crosses to his left chin. Boom. Boom. On the final strike, I put all my force into it, throwing my shoulder out of its socket with an audible pop.

Strangely enough, I didn't feel anything. Maybe I was overthinking it?

Tony gathered himself and charged after me, roaring at the top of his lungs. I jumped up and rammed a knee right into the center of his chest, forcing him back to the ground. He collapsed, holding his chest and heaving.

I also breathed heavily, I'd never overexerted myself so much. The adrenaline was still flowing, but it was only a matter of time before it wore off and everything hit me at once.

But it didn't matter. I won. I raised my fist in the air in a stance of victory.

"Why?" Tony muttered. "Why didn't you fight back until now?"

Looking down at him, "Why didn't I? That is a good question."

This excitement. I love it. I can't get over it. Why have I never fought before? Why have I always been afraid of these kinds of confrontations? This is such a thrilling experience. The sheer thrill of a fight.

"I don't really have a good answer for you that wouldn't shatter your pride." I met his eyes. "So instead, I thank you. Thank you for awakening this side of me I never knew I had."

Tony rested his head down, pavement against his cheek, and fell unconscious next to Bill just as the rain began to cease falling.

I chuckled a bit. Wow, that was quite the display I put on. I, who had no combat experience whatsoever, just managed to win a 3v1.

Will Mom let me off the hook if she finds out I won? No, probably not.

If anything, Dad would join in just to degrade their parents even further by drilling into them that their kids lost to an inexperienced underclassman they had outnumbered. Yeah, I needed to find some excuse. Maybe just play the fool who didn't even know who—

That was my final thought before the adrenaline wore off. All the pain and exhaustion hit me at once. My chest was heaving hard trying to catch air, my body aching from all the movement I'd done with my injuries.

Idiot.

I stumbled back into the brick wall at the end of the alley, groaning in pain. Sliding down the rough surface, I landed with a thunk in a small puddle that had formed. My chest continually rose and lowered, ragged gasps escaping my lips as I tried to gather my bearings.

The rain, which had been blanketing the area since the chase reached its end, finally sputtered to a stop. As the world caught its breath, a shaft of sunlight pierced through the clouds, a warm spotlight illuminating the grimy rainwater clinging to my face.

The sudden kiss of sunshine felt like a small mercy, a flicker of hope in the grimy alleyway. A drip of sweat ran down my cheek as I took in the light's warmth against my cool skin.

Ah man... my pants are wet.

My eyes opened, and I found myself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. I tried to get up but immediately regretted it as a groan of frustration escaped my lips.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," said a deep voice.

The sound of a stranger startled me. I jumped up from where I lay and backed up, knocking over a shelf. The sound of shattering glass filled the room as I collapsed again, the spike of pain overwhelming me even after a surge of adrenaline.

"Damn, am I that scary? Should I have shaved?"

I winced at the pain and tried to get back up, but my body refused, screaming in protest.

The stranger walked over and helped me back onto the bed. "Jeez, the wrap will heal you over time. Just relax and rest for a bit, okay?"

"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked, my throat parched.

Passing me a glass of water, he spoke again. "Hm? Ah, my name is Chronos, Chronos Elior. As for where you are, you're in my home, even knocked over my favorite shelf."

He gestured toward the opposite side of the room. Following his gaze with the glass at my lips, I froze. Cold sweat began as my mind raced, processing every detail of what I was witnessing, hoping and praying it wasn't what I thought.

That shelf had numerous plants scattered across the ground with broken glass and spilled soil. But that wasn't the primary concern. On the ground lay a silver container, glinting against the dim stone. Intricate carved runes and symbols decorated its polished metal surface. Nearby rested a lid, displaced from its proper position. Spilled across the floor, fine powder had escaped, gray and wispy, almost forming shapes before drifting into formlessness.

"Umm... that metal thing... it wouldn't happen to be an oversized ashtray, would it?" Sweat ran down my face, ass cheeks clenched.

"Oh no, that's the Mrs."

I KNEW IT! IT'S AN URN! Mom... Dad, I love you. Please live long, healthy lives. And Iris, don't grow up to be like your dumb older brother.

Avoiding his gaze, I stared at the wall hoping it would just open for me to walk out. Then I heard the sound of someone... spitting? I looked right, the man was gone. I looked left at the wall to see him standing over the urn.

OH MY GOD, HE JUST SPAT ON HER ASHES!

"Hmph, letting some kid knock you over, pathetic." He turned around and walked back with his hands behind his back as if he'd just finished lecturing someone.

This allowed me to get a better look at him. He had dark brown hair naturally slicked back with a beard complementing his chiseled chin. Tanned skin and a muscular physique that really leaked through his clothes. He wore a red hoodie with characters on his back saying 'Elysium #22' with an academy insignia at the center.

A necklace around his neck had a crucifix hanging a couple inches below his collarbone. He was tall, very tall. From my point of view, over seven feet, though I was currently 5'4 at age thirteen, so I didn't have a good way of measuring besides the fact that he towered over everything. The last detail I noticed was his eyes, crimson red that glinted in the light.

"I suppose you didn't have the best relationship with your wife?" I asked.

"Huh?" He looked at me like I'd just insulted him. He began shouting, "THAT WOMAN IS THE GREATEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO ME! I'VE ANNIHILATED COUNTLESS FOES FOR THAT WOMAN! AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN!"

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Ah... yeah, I don't understand a thing.

He cleared his throat, gathering himself. "Our relationship was... a complicated one, yes, but we were a very competitive pair. Which is what made us both inseparable and untouchable." He sat down next to me and placed a hand on my rib cage. "Well, it seems like your ribs have been put back into place. Just a few more minutes and you should be good to go."

Awkward silence stretched between us. I finally spoke up. "What was her name?"

"Amelia."

What a nice name. "I'm... I'm sorry I knocked over Amelia's ashes."

"Hm? Oh, those aren't her ashes."

"HUH?!" My eyes went wide with shock.

He began laughing so hard he teared up. "Haha, I gotcha, didn't I? It's just regular wood ashes. I keep that there so I can mess with people who visit." He paused and scratched his chin. "Maybe that's why people stopped coming over?"

"You don't have many friends, do you?" I said, deadpan.

He began to sound melancholic, which threw me off guard considering how he'd been acting. "I-I have friends, they just have busier lives. I tried to live a life similar to theirs, but I just couldn't do it. That life isn't meant for me."

I would have felt bad if he wasn't staring distantly into a wall.

There's no window there, buddy. I hope you know that.

"Oh well, I digress. Just try not to move—the wrap will slip and I'll have to rewrap it."

"Wrap?"

I looked down and actually took a good look at what was around my chest and abdomen. I saw what seemed to be a bandage wrapped tightly around my torso, emitting a soft golden glow. The bandage was crafted from finely woven material that seemed to radiate light from every thread. It encircled my abdomen and chest in a snug embrace, pulsating with gentle warmth.

I felt energy radiating from the luminous cloth into my cracked ribs and torn muscles underneath. Gingerly, I ran my fingers over the binding. It was smooth to the touch and surprisingly sturdy despite its gossamer appearance. The glowing fibers generated subtle heat that spread deeper with each breath I took.

"A medela wrap helps restore broken bones and torn muscle fibers, but it's not a quick process." He put on a pair of lensless glasses, pulled out an empty clipboard, and began speaking after adjusting them. For what purpose, I didn't know, but he looked at the clipboard and continued.

"Broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, multiple bruises on your face, left eye swollen, possible concussion, and a cut right above your right eye. Luckily your ribs didn't puncture your lungs, if you'd taken a few more hits there, it could've been worse. Once the healing process starts, it takes roughly two hours for all the bones to realign and heal. Afterward, you need to take off the wrap and allow the body to adjust for about a day before placing it back on to complete the healing process without the body rejecting it. Amazing, right? What usually takes one to two months to heal naturally gets healed in a couple of days."

He got up and walked over to a chair with my shirt hanging over it, placing it on the end table next to me. "Granted, this is only because you aren't awakened yet. If you were awakened, you wouldn't need to go through a whole treatment process. However, if this was one of the academies or anyplace with access to medela technology above Blue, this would only need about fifteen minutes."

I was actually intrigued about how this wrap worked. "What rank would this wrap be?"

"I don't know, probably green." I gave him a questioning look. "Haha, I made it myself, so I couldn't tell you what rank this is. You see, I was never a good healer, so if there was ever a scenario where I needed to do something healing-related, I had these at least. Sure, I could have bought some of the good ones, but there's a certain pride in using things you make, you know?" He gave an innocent look, lifting his shoulders. "I was never much of a craftsman either when it came to support items."

"You... can't be serious," I said, deadpan.

"Okay, okay, I do have better things. However, I can't necessarily use them willy-nilly, especially on you. You haven't awakened, like I said, it would ruin your aura channels before you could awaken. Unless I actually was an experienced healer and knew how to tailor a better medela wrap to suit you. Make sense? If I specialized in healing, there wouldn't be an issue and I wouldn't even need to use such low-level equipment."

"How would it ruin my aura channels if I haven't awakened?"

He thought for a moment. "Think of it like a blood transfusion—you need a specific type of blood for the procedure, yes? There are four blood groups and their own versions, positive/negative, that sort of thing. The blood type you are is the blood type you receive. With aura, however, everyone is unique. So if I attempted to use my aura to heal your injuries without the proper skills, I could just as easily overload your aura channels, crippling you and your advancement or potentially killing you. If I was a healer, I'd basically be the 'O-negative' of auras."

"K-kill me?!"

"Haha, yes, kill you. I'm quite strong, you know."

"What if I was awakened?"

"Same thing."

"What? But you said—"

"I said it before—I'm not specialized in healing. If I was, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'd have fixed you up right where I found you."

So there are limits to what you can do? I always had the impression that once you were high enough rank, you could do anything with no issue.

I looked up at him, taking another sip of water. "Wait, so if your aura is so strong, what rank are you?"

He was about to speak, then stopped himself. After contemplating for a bit, he gave me a smirk. "I'm strong enough that I don't really need to worry about too much. I don't typically give out the specifics of how strong I am because it gives me one of three outcomes I'd rather avoid.

They think I'm bullshitting.

They suddenly feel the need to treat me like I'm going to hurt them and everyone they love if they don't make my coffee properly.

They treat me like a VIP and act like they can't say no to anything I say.

Three is the most common. I like casual conversations, you know?"

That wasn't really anything for me to work with other than that he might be Red, since the majority who could live comfortably were ranked there.

He smirked at me again. "I know you're trying to figure out what rank my aura is. Not that it really matters if you can guess or not, but it's still funny to see the face you make when you're trying to figure it out."

Aura ranks were common knowledge, so there wasn't a reason I shouldn't know. After awakening, you started at Green, then the ranks went Blue, Violet, Red, Orange, Yellow, and White. I understood why he'd want to hide it. I could let it slide this time.

Then a question occurred to me. "Wait, if you're already awakened, why didn't you help me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that under the assumption I watched the entire thing unfold?"

I opened my mouth to respond but nothing came out. That was true, I hadn't thought about that. "True, but how did you find me so soon after it ended?"

He avoided my gaze. "I-I was... just in the area."

"Uh-huh."

Bullshit.

Yeah, I wasn't buying it. "So you just happened to be in the area where I was being chased by three upperclassmen out of the residential districts into downtown. Then one of them caught up, pulled me into an isolated alley, and I was graced with a completely one-sided beatdown by my three pursuers, yet you decided to sit and watch the entire thing unfold."

"To be fair, I—"

"You could have at least called the police. Or better yet, the Ascendants Association."

"Now you see, that would have complicated things, especially for me, because I am not on the best of—"

"Forget that. Just answer these three questions. When did you start watching? Why didn't you do anything to stop the fight? Why did you help me after it ended?"

Chronos took a deep breath. "You all first caught my attention after one of them used their freshly awakened aura. As you know, the laws require a freshly awakened to immediately report it to the A.A. for evaluation and orientation within twenty-four hours. From there they're given a bind to suppress their aura from being used until they undergo proper training, so those who haven't awakened yet won't be hurt. From the way his aura felt, it was most certainly not an awakening. A new aura, yes, but I could sense it had been a month since they'd awakened. In other words, using their aura in public is a big no-no. It piqued my curiosity because I sensed two other suppressed auras and you, someone who hadn't awakened yet. So about the time you were pulled into the alley is when I started watching."

Okay, that made sense. Maybe he was in the area, at least for the start.

"As for why I didn't do anything, I would have intervened if he'd decided to use his aura to beat you. It's a good thing he had his friends to tell him to put his bind back on, suppressing his aura completely. Aura and emotions play hand-in-hand. The weaker you are, the more prone you are to acting on impulse. Anyway, since he put it back on, I held off but kept an eye on the situation just in case one of them decided to take it too far. My original intention was to call for an ambulance once it was done so you could get immediate help from experts, then report the antics of the three others to the A.A. afterward to get their licenses suspended and pull some strings to have them go through all kinds of steps just to get re-evaluation."

I could somewhat understand. Considering all three had backing, there was no telling what kind of trouble he could get into. Although, considering he might be ranked Red or above, family connections would be irrelevant just from his individual power alone, so my skepticism remained because of one thing he'd mentioned.

I spoke up. "Wait, weren't you going to say something along the lines of you not being on the best of terms with the A.A.?"

He scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. "Y-yeah, we aren't on the best of terms, but I can still put in a good word to the right people who want to do some good, you know?"

That also made sense, but I was still skeptical. Most of my experience came from what my parents taught me about how to treat others and protect those in need. It might sound hypocritical considering I'd hesitated to help the girl earlier. That was mostly because there wasn't exactly an obvious situation where she'd be hurt the way she was. I should stop, I was just making excuses for myself. Speaking of which, I wondered how she was.

"Anyway, regarding your last question, 'Why did I help you after it ended?' Assuming you're referring to me taking you into my home and taking care of you personally, well, to be frank, you piqued my interest."

I raised an eyebrow, then covered my body with my arms as if he had a lecherous gaze. "What do you mean I piqued your interest? I don't swing that way, so I'll have to turn you down."

He sputtered and fumbled over his words, taking mine seriously. "W-what, no, I told you I have a wife. And I'm not interested in little boys either, so you can— You're fucking with me, aren't you?"

The impish grin on my face probably gave me away.

Clearly unamused, he continued. "What I mean is you piqued my interest in terms of your combat prowess. Very few times have I seen someone take a one-sided beating then turn the tables, mimicking everything they did and using it against them. Not to mention you looked like you were having the time of your life once you started fighting back. At first you were there cowering in fear, accepting your beating like a submissive weakling. But you stood tall regardless. And even after all that, you weren't just taking the beating for nothing. You were learning, from the looks of it. I saw you throw a punch and kick for the first time during the fight. You made it seem like you'd always been able to. Then you read their attacks, predicting their every move and avoiding them almost flawlessly. Tell me, who trained you?"

To be honest, I'd thought it might have just been a way my mind was coping, but no, I remembered it vividly. The sting of my knuckles after colliding with flesh and bone. The recoil on my quads and calves after the impact on Bill's ribs. The sheer thrill of the fight. This feeling within myself was definitely me. Not to mention the fact that someone like me had managed to fight back using their own moves. I was able to learn their attacks, patterns, forms, everything. Just from watching and experiencing them firsthand.

After gathering my thoughts, I answered his question. "No one. I don't have any fighting experience. That was the first time I'd ever fought someone."

He raised both eyebrows. "Oh?" A grin began to tease the corner of his cheeks. "Then let me ask you a few questions. After all, I answered yours—it's only fair."

"I suppose that's true. Ask away."

"Second question. Tell me, when you were being attacked by them, how did it feel? Don't leave any details out. I want to know exactly what you were feeling when you were watching them."

I began recalling the first few moments of the fight. I recalled the moment Tony threw his first punch, how it felt as if time slowed, giving me time to drink in every movement he made. I also explained what happened with Bill and Mateo, including my harsh criticisms regarding Mateo's amateurish fighting. How my heart was racing and continued to increase in tempo before I decided to fight back.

Chronos was taking in everything I said. He didn't interrupt, he listened carefully and nodded as I explained how I felt.

His grin grew after I finished speaking. "Last question. Explain how it felt once you began to fight back."

I paused for a moment before answering. I lifted my hands and looked at them, analyzing the small cuts on my knuckles. The divots in my palms where my fingernails had been digging in. The slight tinge of pain in my right shoulder. A grin began to take over my face as I responded.

"It... it was fun. It was... so much fun."