Uncle's revelation

In front of their home, a rather unique looking carriage arrived, pulled by two creatures that Milo didn't recognise. Both were a slimy green colour with a strange liquid dropping from their bodies, giving off a repulsive rotten cheese kind of smell. He glanced across at his family who were lined up in age order, none of whom were batting an eye at the stench.

'Do I have heightened sensitivity or something?'.

The carriage itself was what you would have expected for the Van Belched family, it was small but painted in the pristine white and deep blue colours of their unique features. The door swung open and Milo's eyes widened in horror at what he saw.

A man stepped out without aide from the person driving the cart, his eyes immediately landed on Milo and a wry smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He flicked his hair away from his eyes, a thick white mane forming behind his neck. Littered throughout his hair, thin strips of pearl blue and bright violet complimented the snow white.

What really caught Milo's attention was his eyes, a pair of eyes he was all too familiar with. The heterochromia eyes of the man, one blue and one red, traced his entire body. As he did so, the air around him seemed to change, as if the mana was slowly starting to seep into his eyes.

It reminded Milo of someone he knew in his previous life, White Tiger. He was a therianthrope who, similar to the Azure Dragon, also reached close to the pinnacle of the world when it came to the essences. His defining feature wasn't his pearl white fur nor his terrifying claws, it was his eyes, the same pair his uncle currently possessed.

Azure Dragon and White Tiger were part of a group in the courts, the heavenly beasts. The other two members consisted of the wise Vermillion Bird, and the brute Black Tortoise.

Milo's eyes narrowed on his uncle, judging from his outward appearance he was sure it wasn't White Tiger. After all, White Tiger was what he deemed to be an idiot, he would've certainly exposed Milo without any sense of repercussions.

'Those eyes though …'.

"It's good to see you brother".

His mother dropped into a small bow, to which his uncle quickly scampered over and helped her to her feet.

"No Sheila, the pleasure is mine. It has been quite a while since I have visited your home, and it would seem you increased your numbers once more …".

Again, a wry smile tugged at the corner of his lips as his gaze swept across Milo.

'It couldn't be, could it?'.

His uncle lifted his gaze from Sheila and brushed past his father, not even stopping to acknowledge him once. He reached down towards Melissa and Rebecca and playfully ruffled their hair, each one of them smiling with joy.

"Uncle Renny", Melissa called out, trying to push his hand away.

'Renny!?'.

Milo had to stifle a laugh at the ridiculous name. How can a leader of a noble family have such a name, he was expecting it to be something powerful, but Renny, it was comical to him.

Milo lifted his gaze meeting Renny's eye who towered above him. He peered down at him, but not with a sense of superiority, it felt more like a sense of pride to Milo.

Instead of the hair ruffling, he stretched out his hand towards Milo, intending for it to be shook.

"Hello, you must be the new son, correct?".

Milo winced at his words, but took his hand and shook regardless.

'This guy definitely knows something'.

"Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Renny".

…

The entire family settled down around the table in the living space. A spread of all sorts of fruits, nuts and meats was slathered so not even an inch of the table seeped through. Renny had declined any sort of welcome party and instead opted for casual chatter, particularly with Sheila.

He kept shooting glances towards Milo, for a reason he couldn't understand.

They enjoyed some pointless chatter whilst his mother and uncle reminisced about her early childhood. It turned out that Milo's initial assumption about her upbringing was wide of the mark, instead it was the complete opposite to what he had expected.

As she was by far the youngest, she was coddled and spoiled by all of her siblings who were at least 20 years older than she was. She even grew up alongside some of her own nieces and nephews who in turn, treated her as if she was their own sibling. This only served to confuse Milo even more.

Given how young his mother was compared to his uncles and aunts, he was left unsure of who was even who anymore. How could he possibly tell the difference between a branch family head and his son when they all looked the same. Renny was pushing into his late 50s but still looked as if he could pass for late 20s, it was mind blowing.

He did catch glimpses of his father constantly being palmed away by his uncle however. It seemed that right from the start, the way the two men acted towards one another wasn't friendly nor was it hostile. It seemed that Renny just held a keen dislike for Sion. He was curious as to why this was happening.

But at least he wasn't being rudely spoken to. He watched as Renny pushed himself up, grunting like an old man whilst he stretched.

"I'd like to take a walk with Milo, if that's alright with you?".

Again, he completely bypassed Sion, who normally has the say of what is good or bad for Milo, and asked Sheila instead. She didn't acknowledge her husband once before answering.

"Yes, of course! I'm sure he would love to go with his uncle!".

Milo rolled his eyes hearing this.

'I really don't care, but I'll see what he's all about anyway'.

…

Renny and Milo strolled leisurely through the small village, neither saying a single word to each other until they settled on a small hill overlooking the village. The view took Milo's breath away, he had been up here once when he was younger, but being able to see it in the dead of night with all of the individual lights on in the houses painted a clear image of each life below him.

He heard Renny shuffle to his right, he looked over watching him unbutton his top button of his shirt. Renny inhaled a crisp breathe of air, held it for a few moments, then released it.

"I can't believe I'm about to ask a 4-year-old child this?".

He laughed to himself, placing his head on his right hand in clear disbelief. He looked towards Milo; his features hardened causing Milo to completely sober from the sight below.

"Tell me Milo, what are you?".

Milo felt a bead of sweat trickle down his face, he swallowed anxiously before answering.

"I'm the son of Sheila and Sion, Milo Van Belched", he said.

Renny's red eye flared at the response and his expression grew grave. "A lie", he said.

He took a step forward, he gripped Milo's shoulders and peered deep into his eyes. Milo tried to avert his gaze but it was like an outside force was preventing him from turning away.

"What are you?", Renny asked again.

Milo remained quiet, finally understanding the situation he was in. It was like he first suspected, Renny's eyes were the exact same as the White Tigers. His eyes were so feared that even the Supreme Deity would not touch him without prior planning. Mystical eyes of suspicion was what he called them. A pair of eyes that could tell if someone was lying or not as soon as the response to a question was uttered.

What had Milo confused was that it seemed this Renny fellow had no drawback to his power. It was unbelievable, even the White Tiger lost nearly all of his sight when using these eyes. So to see a mere human using his friends eyes was not only outrageous, but insulting.

He gripped Renny's forearm with a strength a child should not be able to muster. His eyes narrowed as he watched Renny take a step back.

"Tell me uncle, what exactly are those eyes of yours?", he asked.

"Gaze of truth", he responded bluntly, "It allows me to sense any and all lies when I ask another person a question. It also possesses the ability to grant brief premonitions in the form of dreams".

Milo rolled his eyes internally.

'Oh yeah … old White did mention something about that'.

Milo turned away from Renny and tucked his hands into his pockets, looking over the small village.

"What made you suspect me?", he asked.

"A premonition", Renny said, "4-5 years ago I was woken from my slumber one night after watching a nightmare unfold before my very eyes. I saw shadowed figures fighting in a stretch of valley, each taking turns trying to best a lone figure who shone a brilliant blue hue. Eventually, the battle subsided and the blue figure vanished into millions of particles. I was dragged along as I watched a new life start from my sister".

He turned towards Milo, "That life was you, Milo. I'll ask again, what are yo …".

His words fizzled out when he saw Milo's furious expression. Milo was gripping the wooden handrail with such strength it had started to splinter, the mana in the air surrounding him had started to cry. Renny could feel it, the air surrounding him suddenly ran cold as the handrail shattered. This was unprecedented, Milo had begun to awaken at 4 years old. But he didn't care about that …

'If what he says is true, he was already in possession of these eyes long before my reincarnation. That means …'.

He stomped his foot, the thunderous echo reaching all the way down into the village below.

'White … did you die as well?'.

"It's as I thought …", Renny said, gripping Milo's arms.

Milo glanced at him from the corner of his eye. He let out a heavy breath of air before starting to speak. Renny was shocked seeing a small child carry such a weight of authority.

"I won't tell you everything … But I will tell you my intentions", Milo said.

"Which are?", Renny asked.

"For now, my only goal in mind is learning more about this world and how it functions. Things such as power, nobility, races and the afterlife, anything else can wait until I fully understand not only my own body better, but also the people around me", Milo responded, earning a surprised look from Renny.

He didn't want to disclose all of this information if he didn't have to, but with Renny in possession of White Tiger's eyes, nothing could be hidden from him.

"What are the drawbacks of your power?", Milo asked.

Renny stuck out his tongue, "I don't have 85% of my sense in touch, taste, hearing and smell".

Milo sat down on a small rock and crossed his legs. He rested one hand atop his knee and nestled his chin neatly into his open palm.

"I see, that's a shame".

'That's a bigger price than White had to pay. He only lost one sense and that was slowly, this poor man was born with extraordinary sight but lost his others … well, he wasn't even born with them'.

"Wait …", Milo blurted out, "I haven't been raising my voice so how can you understand me?".

Renny pointed towards his mouth, "I've had this curse since I was a boy, I'd like to think I'm pretty good at lip reading by now".

Milo's brows furrowed again, 'so he's had them over 50 years. Seems White kicked the bucket long before I did'.

"Might I make a suggestion", Renny said, sitting on a smaller rock opposite from Milo.

He waited patiently for Milo's response. When it never came, he continued to speak, "Let me take you to the main house. I love my sister dearly, however these living circumstances won't be able to accommodate the growth you desire. If you come back with me, I can provide a full library and training until you reach a certain level".

Renny rubbed his eyes, he still couldn't believe it. He had instinctively started to treat Milo with respect after seeing his brief display of power. He knew he wouldn't be able to get all of the answers he wished, but he also knew that if he abandoned Milo now, he never would.

"Can I trust you to stay silent on the matter regarding my potential identity?", Milo asked.

"You can", Renny said, "Although I wish to ask a favour of you in relation to that".

Milo let out a small laugh, reminiscing of old times with the White Tiger, "Go on then, what's the favour?".

"I want you to help rebuild the Van Belched family", Renny asked nervously. He pointed up, "Take us back to our rightful spot amongst the elites".

'Well if I can perfect this power, with my knowledge its easily doable'.

Milo pushed himself up from the rock and began to walk back down the hill, "Consider it a promise", he said whilst waving his hand laughing.

Hearing Renny start chasing behind him, he stole a quick glance over his shoulder, noticing the clear delight on Renny's face. He quickly whipped his head away and fell into thought.

'It must have been some time since the Van Belched family had a real talent if he was so desperate he came all this way over a premonition'.

This wasn't the only one of Milo's concerns.

'If Me and White have both died, its safe to assume that Vermillion and Black have also perished. It had been nearly 500 years since I last saw them. I certainly didn't expect to reunite with White, or at least part of him, in this manner'.

Milo clicked his tongue and gazed towards the sky. His eyes swept across each individual star in the sky, "I wonder if those guys are somewhere out there as well", he mumbled softly.

He was a brutal man in his previous life, but this didn't mean he didn't care for his friends. He considered them comrades for some time, in fact he still considered them comrades. They pushed one another to greater heights, enabling each other and teaching one another. So to find out about them in such a revolting manner was inexcusable.

'Supreme Deity, I swear on the life of Azure Dragon and Milo Van Belched I'll make sure you regret the moment you were born'.

The two men walked in silence until finally, they arrived back at Milo's residence where his mother was patiently waiting on the doorstep with a worried look on her face.