As Arthur’s cloudy eyes gazed at Tyrese’s falling knee, the same attack from the start, his mind drifted elsewhere... drifted to the day of his evolution to Pathfinder rank, and the day his contracted nightcrawler spoke to him about this very moment.
***
Sometime ago... Inside the Larsons’ apartment.
While Levi went out to hunt down dark energy clouds for cultivation, Arthur remained in his room, sitting on the floor... he had just successfully evolved to the Pathfinder rank using the perfect evolution that was handed to him by the Morningstars.
He checked his mutations and was somewhat disappointed when he didn’t unlock anything that looked flashy, like Levi’s spine or something else.
’Don’t be short-sighted... You are lucky to have two mutations that reinforced your internal body... it will be extremely difficult to kill you even if you look like shit on the outside.’
Khu’zan scolded, feeling as though he’d been forced into the role of a full-time father to a brat who cared only about saving the world, backing up his brother, and looking cool while doing it.
’Tsk, who can beat me anyway to such a state?’ Arthur smirked while flexing his biceps, ’You see these bad boys? No one is going to break them.’
’You still haven’t seen the enormity of the heavens... There are people out there who can bend you like a piece of paper, and you can do nothing about it.’ Khu’zan interrupted after noticing Arthur’s mouth opening up, ’Before you say anything, I am talking about your peers... kids, who are near your age.’
’Are you sure?’ Arthur narrowed his eyes, ’Bend me? Aren’t you exaggerating? I know I am not the strongest, but I can still hold my weight, you know.’
’Ah, I am done with you... Just check your unlocked ultimate ability already.’ Khu’zan sighed in defeat.
Arthur did as he was told with a chuckle... After closing his eyes briefly, he checked the details of his latest unlocked ultimate ability.
// Orryn’s Ascendance:
Trigger: When the user’s body sustains extreme damage, nearing collapse, Aurikara’s Gemheart instinctively awakens, and the crystallized vines and fractured bone-like shards bloom from within, absorbing all the damage and reforging a permanent body anew.//
"Woaah... what kind of masochistic ability is this?" Arthur’s pupils widened in stupefaction.
"It suits you well... I know one day your overconfidence will get you beaten black and blue, might as well have a contingency." Khu’zan smiled, "Also, it helped you awaken Aurikara’s Gemheart of the Great Healer Golem."
"The Great Healer?" Arthur wondered.
"Yes, Ancestor Aurikara had great powers related to healing, recovery, even treating one’s soul... She was called the Great Healer because many sick people went to her to be blessed, and she had never turned anyone away... even if they were from different races. Unfortunately, she passed away, and her royal family also wasn’t spared." Khu’zan said with a sorrowful smile.
"That sucks to hear." Arthur’s expression went solemn, "The First Nineborn and their royal families... what kind of enemies did they have? Why have most of them all gone extinct? It doesn’t add up."
Khu’zan remained silent as he sat in the bridge of darkness by himself... his appearance also changed after the evolution, his body remained the same, but it now had pink crystals coming out of his back... His split horn had an addition of a pink crystal, but he didn’t seem to care about his new appearance.
"They joined the losers’ side and paid the price..." Khu’zan said.
Hearing this, Arthur opened his mouth, wanting more details, but Khu’zan shut down his attempts.
"What did you notice from your new ultimate?" He asked.
"Hmm?" Arthur held his chin thoughtfully for a few moments... then, he answered while scratching his head, "The mutation is based on Orryn’s Heart, yet Aurikara’s Gemheart is the one to awaken it? I don’t get it, do the Gemhearts have some inherent synchronization?"
"Bingo." Khu’zan smiled, "All Nineborn Golems are believed to originate from a single source... hence, as varied as their powers are, they still share the same origin. This means each Gemheart can activate the mutations based on other Gemhearts."
"Now we are talking." Arthur grinned, not feeling bad anymore about his non-flashy mutation.
"Let’s go test it out... it says reforging a body anew permanently, this means you can abuse this ability to keep increasing your physical strength to its limit, as long as you are willing to eat the pain," Khu’zan said.
"How bad can it be?" Arthur smirked.
...
An hour later...
Arthur could be seen lying on the ground inside a forest with a look of utter despair... the entire area around him was covered in pools of blood, yet his body looked brand new.
However, the eyes chico... the eyes never lie.
Arthur’s eyes were as white as snow, widened to the limit as if he had just been tortured for the last hour.
"No more... no more..." He kept repeating, akin to a broken machine.
’Yea... this isn’t going to work.’ Khu’zan shook his head, ’He can’t inflict massive harm on himself and not lose his marbles... also, the permanent enhancement is nothing worth noting unless his body was completely shattered... he can never reach such a state on his own.’
’He needs someone to beat him so bad and still keep him alive... only then will his potential bloom.’ He thought.
***
Back to the present...
As everyone’s eyes were affixed on the falling Tyrese, who resembled a meteor descending... only a few had their eyes on Arthur.
"Arthur... do it, do it and show them all..." Levi uttered under his breath as he gazed at his brother’s shattered internal body, "Show them that the Larsons crack, but we don’t break."
"SHOW THEM!"
Booom!
As Levi’s shout resounded across the arena, it was soon drowned out by a thunderous explosion of Tyrese’s fall, kicking up a much bigger cloud of dust that hid their bodies from everyone’s eyes.
But, before the explosion occurred, Levi’s sensitive ears picked up on a faint whisper uttered with great difficulty, but buried passion only he could feel... only he, who shared his bloodline, could feel it.
-Orryn’s Ascendance... Free me from my weakness... free me.-
"..."
"..."
"..."
As Levi was grinning from ear to ear, the girls held Jojo tightly, noticing that her eyes were already bloodshot, seeing nothing but red before her. Luckily, she was too weak to fight them off.
Meanwhile, as Tyrese staggered away from the pit, swaying back and forth, he muttered with a disappointed, sorrowful expression.
"Ahh... burp, my bad, ponytail, I went overboard again... I thought you were different, burp... I thought you could handle me at my best... how unfo... burp..tunate."
But, before he could walk far, his ear twitched after hearing a faint heartbeat.
Ka-thumb...
"Hmm?"
Confused, he turned around, his head tilted to the side, resembling a drunken person searching for something to lean on.
Ka-thumb! Ka-thumb!...
The faint heartbeats thundered with sudden intensity, like an ancient engine roaring back to life after a long, forgotten slumber... Then came a sharp crack, like crystal splitting under immense pressure.
The cloud dust began to stir, glowing faintly red, creating a vermillion silhouette of a figure rising from the depths.
The conference teams’ celebration was halted immediately, their pupils widening in shock at the sight of Arthur’s body after the dust cleared out of the pit.
His clothes were torn as vermillion crystals sprouted from his arms, ribs, shoulders, and even his legs, making him resemble a man cursed to turn into a vermillion crystal sculpture, but defying the odds and resisting the curse in the middle of the transformation.
His loose hair spilled free of its tie, flowing down until his waist... it was black with a soft vermillion hue before, but now? It was burning red with the tips crystallizing into sharp shards.
Tyrese froze, heart skipping a beat, awakened slightly from his drunken stupor... he could feel it, this wasn’t the same Arthur from before.
This was something else... something reborn.