The Murder of the Rivers 2

"But why was it unleashed then, and it didn't affect me before?"

"Apparently, your mother sealed your powers and hid them, so you can live a normal life in Middle Earth, especially from your mortal father."

"So, my mother is a phoenix?" When neither of the brothers responded to Archie's question, the room fell into an eerie stillness.

"Are you telling me she is not a phoenix?" Archie asked again, insisting on receiving the answer and refusing to leave out any information about his mother anymore.

"She is a mixed race."

When the notion that Archie's mother was a demigod and he was the demigod's offspring was brought to light, his eyes widened in shock.

"What? So, in a way, I am a quasi-god?"

"There is no such thing as a quasi-god."

"Well, if mom was demi-god and married a mortal, shouldn't I be a watered-down god?"

"No, because you possessed formidable powers and unleashed them at such a young age. Who knows what you will become when you reach adulthood?"

"But I was never trained." Archie said, waving his hand and snapping his fingers, making his point across for the twins to see. "See. Not an ounce of mana flows out of my finger tips. I don't see how you can call this formidable."

"Archie, you have been suppressing your mana long enough. I think you should stay here for a while and awaken it."

"You are saying this like it was my fault. I wasn't the one who stifled my powers and erased my memories in the process." Archie's tone of accusation was clear: his patience with his grandfather was spreading thin. 

How could his grandfather keep this secret all this time? Was it for the greater good of his wellbeing? He was old enough to fend for himself.

At least his grandfather should have told him everything went well; he gave him the watch on his eighteenth birthday.

Archie was utterly sick of all the deception and secrecy that began with his mother and continued with his grandfather.

"I didn't wipe your memory." Amos answered, predicting that Archie would jump to conclusions and accuse him of sealing his powers and erasing his memories. Following up on what his mother did would be logical.

"Stop playing me, old man. You are the other person who was able to do so after Mom died. Why continue to feign ignorance."

"Your mom did it." Amos quickly cleared the air before Archie's emotions went wild.

"How can she do it if she is dead after the incident?" Archie yelled, clearly, it wouldn't make any sense.

"The magic that she used was a protection spell that suppressed your magical capabilities and let you forget about magic in general, especially when you use it.

She placed this spell on you and your sister when both of you were infants, during the christening ceremony.

Her goal was simple: she didn't want her precious babies to unleash uncontrollable mana when they were young that would attract the attention of normal humans on earth.

So, when you saw the deaths of your parents and your sister, you snapped, causing a surge of mana to release, which resulted in the destruction of the place." Amos explained immediately.

"I did the same thing before entering Astral; you don't see me having another memory loss episode?" Archie rebutted.

"I think the protection spell will last until you are eighteen years old." Amos replied.

"So, what you are saying is, even if I don't arrive at Elysium, I will eventually create a mana cyclone incident on earth." Archie replied in a sarcastic tone.

"That's probable. That was why I gave you the watch on your birthday. It detected the mana in your body and transported you to Elysium." Amos finally said.

"Gramps! Why did you do that? Why didn't you explain things clearly all this time? You usually do not articulate things so clearly and formally, like today. You could have told me so I could prepare myself." Archie furiously said.

"I cannot break the pact made a thousand years ago and risk revealing the existence of Elysium to the people on earth. I came here to be your guardian, and once you turned eighteen, I handed over your mother's watch and when you do go out of control, you will go straight to Elysium." Amos blurted.

Archie: "So the watch creates the portal?"

Amos: "The watch provided you a one-way trip to Elysium."

Archie: "What? One way trip?"

"Yes, a dwarf made it; it will become faulty once it finishes its purpose and becomes useless. Your mother managed to be friends with a dwarf and came here on her own accord, without my permission. Then she was lost to me forever. The first time she contacted me ever since she left Elysium was when the Wraiths came and attacked you, and when I came, she was gone." Amos had released all his pent up emotions. The secrets that he had kept all these years had finally been revealed.

Archie went silent. After listening to his grandfather, he forgot that the day he lost his family, his grandfather lost a daughter as well, and he was trying to be tough for Archie's survival."

"I am sorry, grandpa."

"I know you are frustrated; I was too when not only my daughter died in vain in this god-forsaken place, but I had to give up my life in Elysium to take care of you in Middle Earth."

"You could have raised me in Elysium."

"I couldn't, because your magic was sealed; you were just a mere mortal. It would be dangerous for you to survive in Elysium."

"Now, did the wraiths target mom?"

"Yes. Three wraiths were sent to your dwelling. They wanted you."

"Why?"

"They never had a mortal soul with the potential to become a demigod before. They can sense that your powers were suppressed, so you were the easy target."

"But that was just our hypothesis." Athan answered for the first time in a long time throughout the conversation.

"Once we retrieved you and your mother's corpse, we quickly performed damage control. We decided to part ways there and then. I took your mother's body back to Elysium, and your grandfather continued to raise you there on middle earth. We had to make a quick decision, as the portal we came from was closing fast. It was hasty."

"The truth was, I didn't know the extent of the protection. What I told you were mere guesses. Both of us guessed that you were under the protective spell that your mother created, but we came up with the hypothesis that the spell was broken after you reached eighteen. Which was when you reached Elysium." Amos replied.

"It is still inconclusive." Athan added.

Archie slummed down on the chair and gave a huge sigh, feeling dejected that he could not go back to earth as soon as he wanted. He had planned his life properly and was eager to follow it diligently. Apparently, nothing seemed to go according to plan. He needed to take down the wraiths that came and murdered his parents ten years ago.

The room was in profound silence as all three of them shared the truth of the past. Tears trickled down Archie's cheek that had been tempting to flow since the start of the conversation, but he was keeping them at bay.

"Tell me all about the wraiths."