Returning Home

Evelynn sat silently, observing Kai for a moment before responding. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" Kai spoke without hesitation.

Evelynn nodded slowly, she wasn't too surprised after watching what had happened. She then glanced towards Ashe who was picking at her food angrily. Evelynn leaned back, catching Oscar's eye and motioning him to come over.

Oscar sat down, smile on his face and drink in hand.

"What's wrong?" Oscar asked.

"I want to go back home" Kai spoke up, frustration teeming from his voice.

Oscar's smile disappeared. He exchanged a quick glance with Evelynn, but before he could speak Kai continued. "It would also give you a chance to meet my father."

"And give me a chance to smash that donkey's face in" Ashe mumbled under her breath.

Oscar remained silent as he observed Evelyn's reaction. Oscar and Evelynn had talked about this before, and Evelynn made it extremely clear that she did not have a good impression of Kai's father. To his surprise, though, Evelynn swiftly agreed.

"I'd love to meet your father" Evelynn gave a stiff smile. "I have quite a few questions to ask him."

Oscar swallowed hard, praying for William's safe future. He turned to face the still angry kids. "What got you guys so angry?"

"I ran into Draven" Kai gave a short and quick answer. Oscar just nodded slowly, understanding why Kai was so angry. Suddenly Carter came over jovially, his face flushed red and clearly drunk.

"Great news guys!" Carter wrapped his hands on Kai's shoulders, giving him a massage when he suddenly froze. He looked around the table, everyone seemed to be in a relatively bad mood. "But it can wait until tomorrow! Why don't we head back to the hotel and go to bed?"

…

The next day, Kai was standing just outside the Draken Clan's gate. The dragon carvings unchanged from the day he had run away. He clenched his fist in anger as he remembered what had happened that night.

Taking a deep breath, Kai tried his best to calm himself down. He had mixed feelings about returning to the Clan today. He was both happy and angry with the chance to meet his father again. Kai wanted to ask him quite a few questions.

Kai stepped forward, ready to push the gate opened when he suddenly hesitated. Turning around he looked to Evelynn and Ashe nervously. Carter had some meetings to attend, and Oscar had decided to join him, while Evelynn and Ashe decided to join Kai.

"Let's go" Evelynn stepped ahead of Kai, pushing the door open for him.

"You said you show me around!" Ashe grabbed Kai's arm and dragged him into the Draken Clan compound. Kai smiled wryly and allowed himself to get pulled.

Inside the Draken Clan, few people were near the gate and those who were didn't seem to mind that some people had come to visit. It wasn't uncommon for people to come to the Draken Clan for business recently, so no one tried to stop them.

One man on the side, however, widened his eyes before pulling out his phone.

"He's here."

…

"Kai, where are we going?" Ashe asked.

Kai had decided to take the lead in order to show them around the Clan. He first he brought them to the main plaza, near to where he had first awakened. Now they were walking down a slightly more isolated path, causing Ashe and Evelynn to look around curiously.

"I'm bringing you guys to my old house" Kai turned and smiled as he answered. "It should be just around this corner here and we'll be able to see it."

Just as he turned the corner Kai froze, while Ashe and Evelynn's faces went pale.

Kai could not believe what he saw. He ran forward towards his house, tears streaming down his face. The house looked worn down, the walls covered in vines. Some of the windows were broken, boarded over. The plants that had been planted outside were withered and dead.

Kai was silent as he stood before his old house, his fists clenched by his side.

"Kai are you alright" Ashe stepped forward, reaching her hand to place on Kai's shoulder. Just as she was about to touch him Evelynn pulled her back violently and jumped back.

"Evelynn what are-" Ashe cried out in pain when suddenly a terrifying aura burst from Kai. Ashe watched in horror as the world around Kai began to warp. A strange purple and black energy rising from Kai's body as he began walking towards the house, the surrounding temperature dropping drastically.

At some points it looked as though Kai had disappeared, only for him to return a couple feet further towards the house. Each step he took leaving behind a dead patch of grass as the purple energy swirled around him like a vortex.

Soon Kai stood before his house, just a couple feet away from the front door. The vortex grew faster and faster, Evelynn and Ashe were able to make out the form of strange beings appearing inside. Eerie and ethereal howls echoed out as Kai reached for the door.

Just as he touched the door the house seemed to become somewhat translucent, its appearance flashing with that from the past when it wasn't run down. Suddenly all the energy disappeared as though it were never their in the first place while Kai collapsed next to his house.

Suddenly a loud shout echoed from the Sky, forcing Evelynn and Ashe out of their stupor and fear.

"Kai!" Uncle Wang panicked as he descended swiftly, landing next to Kai and picking him up. He could only thank Kai's parents for having their house so isolated as he began looking around, his eyes eventually locking on to Ashe. "Where's Lance!?"

…

"Tell it to me again! Tell it to me again!" a young Kai called out to his mother as they lied next to each other in bed. Kai's mother could only shake her head, she had finished to story last night and yet Kai wanted to hear it again.

"It all started with war, as many tragedies do" Kai's mother began her story, Kai nuzzling into his mother's chest. "They were a clan of warriors, the men and woman known far and wide for their monstrous strength. The clan fought for their home, their country. The fought loyally with their lives on the line, unafraid of death."

"What was their name, mom?" Kai asked innocently.

Kai's mother smiled and pinched his nose.

"At the time they were Clan Basileus" she responded with a sigh. "Of course, they changed it later…"

"They weren't a large clan, more like a family of elites, numbering no more than 50 members. However, even with their low numbers the other clans and the royal family felt threatened. The others were worried that the Basileus family would try to usurp control."

"Because of this their family was sent to the most brutal and dangerous battlefronts. While some were lost, many emerged victorious; turning what seemed to be impossible battles into vibrant victories. With each of those victories they gained respect from the common warriors, they were considered heroes to the people."

"With every victory the Basileus Family claimed, the other clans and royal family felt more and more pressure. Even with the Basileus's losses they still had just over 30 members left, and with how strong they had become the Clans knew it was more than enough."

"So, one day the royal family invited all the other clans, big and small, to find a solution. A way to deal with the threat of the Basileus. Eventually one of the smaller Clan's came up with an idea, one so insane it might just work. It was risky, but the royal family had no choice. They decided to act immediately."

…

Sitting on the wall of the Draken Clan estate, near the gate where Kai had entered earlier was a blonde woman with blue eyes. She rested her head on her hand while she waited for something, every once and a while she'd turn around and look into the Clan grounds longingly before shaking her head.

Luckily, she didn't have to wait long when three men appeared nearby. If Kai were there, he'd recognize them all. Two of them were the ones talking to Dorian back at the banquet the other day while the third was the one who had taken the duffle bag from Charles and Sandra.

The men didn't seem to notice the woman as the man with the slicked back hair spoke.

"So he lied" he spoke coldly as he gazed at the gate.

"It would seem so" the scarred man said as he took out what looked like a tuning fork. The tuning fork was emitting a strange buzz when he pointed it towards the gate.

"I'll deal with Dorian, you two get the Key" The man with the slicked back hair sighed. Before he was able to even move, he froze as a trickle of blood leaked from his mouth. Looking down he noticed a fist coming through his chest from his back.

He strained his neck to see who had killed him. Seeing the assailants face his eyes widened as he let out a pained chuckle.

"Redmond…" The man coughed up some blood as the woman pulled her hand from his chest. As the man fell to the ground, he used what little energy he had left to warn his allies.

"Run."

The two men immediately split in opposite directions, all they needed was for one person to make it back to headquarters. In just a couple seconds the two men had travelled significant distances, it was clear they were both Agility System Spirit Masters.

The woman groaned as she whipped her arm out, trying to get some of the blood off of it. She looked in both directions lazily before picking the slowest of the two and giving chase.