Chapter 30

"Oh!" Delilah said with a giggle, "that one seems to be interested in you."

I checked the woman out for another few moments. She was really pretty with an incredible figure, maybe even better than Megan's.

I snorted then ignored her, she was hot, but I still wasn't completely sold on my mother's vision. Though I was willing to admit to myself that I was being hypocritical given I was believing my mother about how fucked the world was about to get. I just worried that having another girl show up could complicate whatever I had going on with Karen and Megan, because if either was serious I was not going to miss my chance with either of them.

I looked down at my cell phone then sent a text to Karen asking how they were doing. Then I searched the net to see if anyone had posted anything about the oversized elephant we had seen on the way to pick up Samantha.

To my great surprise I didn't find any.

I kept searching and finally found an answer to my curiosity. The elephant had only been one of many oversized animals spotted across the nation, but all the social media had purposefully removed the images and videos then warned the posters to not upload the content again.

Their reason, the posters were trying to create additional chaos in a time of crisis.

I stared at the screen for several long moments as I tried to take all that in. It didn't make sense to me. Not at first, then I started to look for news on the twisted but the only thing I could find was news that the police and military were working together with special individuals to quickly put down any appearance of the monsters. None of the horrifying videos of the first day could be found anywhere, all of them had been taken down from social media and news sites. The only reason I could think of for doing that was to cover up the severity of the situation. To keep the average person who hadn't dealt with a twisted in the dark.

For a few moments I considered that and wondered if it was the right thing to do. Personally I didn't think so, people had a right to know what was going on and how dangerous it was.

My phone dinged and I saw a text from Karen. 'Hey babe, things are a bit hectic. We are at the store shopping, but it's crazy here. I'll text you when we leave.'

I stared at the text for a few moments as I took that in then sighed. I forgot how fearful people could be. For a moment I contemplated how crazy everyone would be if they knew what I knew, then I shivered. I didn't blame the government or whoever it was from downplaying the situation anymore. Or maybe I did, I was really confused. I still felt people needed to know so they could prepare themselves, but if they knew as much as I did, I was sure there would be widespread panic, rioting, and all the things that went with it. All of which would just make the situation worse, it would probably help create even more twisted who would just add to the panic and body count. A vicious cycle that would be best avoided. Yet at the same time I was sure it was going to happen eventually anyways. From what I knew there would only be more and more twisted as the ambient mana in our world increased. Sure there would be more awakened as well, but would there be enough? That didn't take into account the twisted that would appear when the other gates opened and the other emotions became the triggers for the change.

Before I could allow myself to spiral into an ever increasing theological debate on the pros and cons of leaving the overall population in the dark concerning the impending crisis. The butler came back into the room carrying a football sized red crystal that he placed upon a table set against the wall.

"You are going to do that now?" The older woman asked from within the crowd of women.

"Soon." The butler replied then looked at the crowd of blonde men. "Is everyone here?" he asked.

"Yes." My father replied, stepping out from the crowd. I hadn't even realized he was back.

"Is everyone accounted for?" the butler asked.

My father nodded. "A few had some close calls with the twisted, but no one was hurt, too seriously." he replied.

As my father and the butler were speaking the crowd of men split up. The older men I guessed were my 'uncles' moved to the side of the room while the younger men stayed put. With everyone there I was able to see that there were eight older men including my father, and a little over thirty younger men excluding myself.

"Very good." the butler said then looked over at me. "The elders are currently discussing new information provided to them about this world. While they do that we shall continue on with the bloodline confirmation. Once you have been confirmed to be an authentic member of the Wallous bloodline you will receive supplies from the family that will assist with your growth." He informed us all while staring straight at me. "Daryl, as the eldest son of the eldest son, I believe you should be the first." he told me.

"Hey!" Delilah said, sounding angry.

"Hush." I told her as I grabbed her by the waist before standing up and shifting her back onto my shoulder. "How are we doing the verification?" I asked the butler.

"It is simple, touch the bloodstone." the butler replied gesturing towards the large red stone he had placed on the table against the wall. "Be warned though, anyone who is not of the Wallous bloodline who touches the stone will be punished by the stone. It will not kill you, but it will be incredibly unpleasant."

The older woman snorted but didn't say anything.

I looked over at the woman but she just stared back at me with a secretive smile. I didn't know what the smile meant, but I was getting the feeling that there wasn't a single person in the room that believed I was actually my father's son. I couldn't fault them after seeing how the broad shouldered blonde look bred true among the others. Despite that I also knew that my mother had been adamant about the fact that she had never cheated on my father. I was his son, even if he didn't believe it.

As such I took a deep breath then walked over to the table holding the bloodstone then reached out and placed my hand upon the stone without hesitating. As soon as my hand touched the stone I felt a warm energy spread up my arm then through my body. A moment later the bloodstone began to glow a vibrant red and the warm energy swiftly gathered in my mana core. I suddenly felt incredibly energized then the warmth and the light from the bloodstone faded until it disappeared altogether.

After a few seconds I pulled my hand away then looked over at the butler who was staring down at the bloodstone with a look of confusion on his face.

Delilah burst out laughing. "Their faces!" she crowed in between laughs.

I turned to see that everyone was wearing either a shocked or confused look on their face. Even the women from the Alderan family.

"Hush you." I told Delilah halfheartedly.

Delilah giggled for another moment before getting herself under control. "Sorry, it's just so funny, especially when you already provided them an understandable reason for being different." she explained.

"He did?" my father asked.

"I did?" I asked.

"Wait, you didn't get it either?" Delilah asked.

"I didn't either!" Enya spoke up.

Delilah groaned, "Seriously?" she asked.

"How about you explain it to us in simple terms." I suggested.

"Got any crayons?" Delilah asked petulantly.

"Delilah!" I said irritated.

"Fine, your mother is from a different region." She told us.

"Region?" my father asked.

Delilah sighed again. "A region is an area covered by a mana spirit. Given the fact that you don't seem surprised by the twisted that are appearing here, you are probably from the region where the brute type of twisted appears. His mother should be from an area under a different mana spirit, which is why you haven't heard of her family before." she explained slowly.

"That is a lot to take in." I commented.

"Not really." Delilah retorted. "What part of the fact that convergences are rare didn't get through to you?" she asked. "There are tons of world chains out there that none of you even knew about because they are in a different region that you can't reach except through convergences."

"I am so sorry that I didn't understand every nuance of what being in a convergence entailed when you only just told me what a convergence was in the last couple hours." I retorted sarcastically.

"Much better, I forgive you." Delilah replied magnanimously.

I turned my head to look at her to see if she was joking, but I didn't think she was. It seemed that she and I were going to have a long talk. Shaking my head I looked over at my father to see that he had a complicated look on his face.

"I see, I also did not take that into consideration." the butler commented. "I will have to inform the elders about this as well, but it can wait until we finish confirming the bloodlines."

"Do we have too?" one of the other young men asked. "He was the only one we were doubting."

"You can choose not to, but only those confirmed to be of the Wallous line will receive the assistance of the clan. Besides the bloodstone gives a gift to all those of the Wallous line. One that I am sure you would not want to miss out on." the butler informed them.

I stared at the butler for a moment then remembered how the warm energy from the stone had converged on my mana core. I closed my eyes and looked into my mana core, there sitting among my other abilities was a new one I hadn't had before. Seeing it a smile spread across my face.