NOVEL NEXT Chapter Three Hundred Forty Six
We didn't get attacked after the fifth match, which I attributed to how many of the cult got cleaned up in the raid last night. Since the other forces were busy recovering (or trying to exploit the Cult's weakness) we were safe enough to bring Alec and crew back to the house with us. Zeke was already gone when we came out, as were most of the others, so I assumed he'd beaten us home.
With Rime along I wasn't worried about an attack and the house seemed like the safest place to discuss my mother. I was kind of excited honestly. I knew very little about my mom, and these people were actual MEMBERS of the Church. Granted they were external members, but any A-ranker should be more than well known, and they definitely had some idea about what she was like.
As for why I was so enthusiastic? I guessed deep down I didn't blame my mom as much as my dad for leaving. Seeing what happened to Zeke made me suspect my dad had forced the issue, plus I spent so long thinking she was dead, so there was a part of me that was still in shock that I even had the chance to eventually meet her some day. I tried to temper that excitement with pragmatism though, she was an A-ranker, and that meant not really a human with an understandable mindset. What that meant for her specific case wasn't clear, but it would mean something.
We texted Zeke on the way, and he said that he WAS back at the house waiting, since the house was his territory as much as ours and the rules for interference was a bit weaker when his own stuff was threatened. I was pretty sure that wouldn't be true if I outright told him I was skirting the rules to bring them there, but since I left it up in the air it shouldn't matter.
"I appreciate the heals." Alec said as we sat in the back seat of the car. "Where exactly is this place?" All of us were able to fit pretty easily, but the atmosphere was a little weird. None of them knew exactly what was happening. We'd invited them over to meet, but they weren't exactly close to us. I think the only real reason he accepted was that we'd already said yes to his party invite and gone in blind, plus we'd healed him and I was pretty sure he warned his own faction before leaving.
It was a gutsy move, and I liked him a bit more for it. "Not far. We should be there in a few minutes. Can I get you guys something to eat or drink when we get there?"
Callie beamed. "Solomon is a fantastic cook, you should take him up on it. He can whip something up pretty fast too."
Which was true, as long as I wasn't pushing. Making higher leveled food with better materials was time consuming, but if I wanted to cook up some mortal snacks it wouldn't take long. The combination of my Focus, Perception, and Might meaning I could handle things like frying pans quickly and with extreme precision.
They waved us off, thanking us but saying they weren't hungry. We chatted a bit about earlier matches in the tournament and just general facts about the planet before finally arriving and going inside. I was glad they seemed to know that we wouldn't speak about private matters until we were somewhere more protected.
Once we were inside, I took off my coat, though I left the mask on for now. I wanted to relax a bit but I wasn't comfortable showing my face, even if that was stupid because dozens of powerful people saw it in Doomtown. Cass and Cark weren't here, having vacated when we texted just in case, and the animals were in their own building, so it was just us and Zeke, who wasn't visible despite me knowing he was here.
"So, what's all this about?" Asked Alec. "We appreciate the heal, but if you're hoping to question us or something we'll have to shut that idea down. You did us a favor, but we're not like those mercenaries the other factions have hired." He seemed on his guard, like we would just attack them to force them to tell us their secrets.
I wasn't planning that, and I knew Callie would follow my lead here, since this was mine to tell. So I considered how to explain. "No." I said definitively. "We aren't going to try to force you to tell us anything. In fact, I'm hoping you'll listen while I tell YOU something."
Alec raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, waiting for me to continue. I decided to give him a bit of background. "Did you know." I asked conversationally. "That I had all my stats when I awakened? I was told that's uncommon, and the main reason it happens is that the Ascendant in question had powerful parents. Now I know my dad is powerful, but he isn't someone for you to care about. My mother though, she's A-rank from what I know. And she might be of interest to you all."
"How so?" He said calmly, but I could tell he had at least an idea where this was going. He wasn't an idiot, and for them to care about who my mom was, she'd either need to be a total monster or someone from their faction.
"My mother is a Saintess of the Red Revenant Church." I said matter of factly. "It's something that's brought me into conflict with the Cult at least once or twice. I figured if they cared enough to try to murder me over it you might care enough to be willing to be friends?"
Alec's eyes had widened, and his pupils narrowed to pinpricks. He was standing VERY still, though whether out of fear or some other emotion I had no idea. "There are several hundred Saintesses." He said, his voice radiating an obviously forced calm. "Which one, might I ask, are you related to?"
I shrugged. "My mom's name is Sasha. I'm not sure how many Sasha's might be in the higher ranks of the Church, but one of the crazies who tried to kill me mentioned she was the youngest Saint the church had, if that helps."
Lena, who had been letting her captain do the talking, SQUEALED in glee. "Sasha the STAR QUEEN? The Fist of the Radiant Pope herself? Oh my Revenant, are you serious? Can you introduce us? Can I get an autograph? Do you have any pictures?"
She was gushing like I'd told her my mom was her favorite pop singer, which given we were all Ascendants might not be too far off the mark. "Maybe one or two." I said calmly. "She left when I was young, and I'm not sure why. But can you tell me more about her? What do you mean the Star Queen? Who is the Radiant Pope?"
Alec held up a hand to stop her. Giving the excited blonde a disapproving frown. "Sorry. Solomon, Lena can't always read the room. I can tell your relationship with your mother isn't exactly close, and I apologize if my teammate was insensitive. I can answer your questions for you, if you'd like. Since SOMEONE has the social skills of a blunt battle axe."
Lena pouted at him. "Shut up. Just because mom likes you better doesn't mean you can be mean to me. Daddy says that as the oldest it's your job to help guide me and teach me when I do something wrong. Scolding me in front of new friends isn't very teacher-y of you."
He rolled his eyes. "That isn't a word. And dad cuts you too much slack because you inherited his ability."Huh. Guess they were siblings. He turned back to me. "Ignore Lena. I can answer your questions since I'm the CAPTAIN OF MY TEAM." He said loudly, clearly aiming that at his sister.
"The Radiant Pope." He started with. "Is one of the S-ranked Popes of the Red Revenant Church. Most of them are the original disciples the Revenant took in as he was rising to power millennia ago." He paused. "Anyone who hits S-rank attains the Pope Job, but most of the most powerful were personal disciples, since they inherited some of his powerful Skills. The Radiant Pope is the youngest of the original disciples."
Lena nodded enthusiastically. "He's also the Star Queen's DAD. She inherited his ability, which most people think is some kind of photosynthesis that makes you physically stronger by absorbing light, but she altered it as she progressed. When she fights, she glows like a star and her physical power is unparalleled. It's crazy, and some people claim it's an entirely separate ABILITY, like she might have two, which almost never happens."
She sounded...terrifying. And amazing. I wondered what she was like as a person. I didn't remember her at all. Maybe she was intense and driven? Or maybe she was kind and had a core of steel underneath? Maybe she had a temper, like I did sometimes. Gods knew I didn't get it from dad. The idea that she had two abilities like the current Wishmaster just made her seem even more mysterious.
I paused at that, looking at Alec as I processed all that. "Speaking of which, do YOU have two abilities? Because I saw you using wind and fire in that fight. Was one of them a Skill?" I was pretty sure it was, but he must have been using a bunch of different Skills to get those effects, which made me curious how strong his soul actually was, because that would be exhausting.
To my surprise, Zeke answered. "He was using the Fist of the Red God." Everyone jumped as my uncle appeared on one of the couches. I wondered why he waited, but maybe he stayed out of the conversation until they told me more about my mom so he didn't need to risk being involved.
Whatever the reasoning, I was pretty curious about his comment. "What is the Fist of the Red God?"
"It's a martial art the Red Revenant created personally." At our shock he snickered a bit. "That doesn't mean he taught it personally. It's a unique Skill but he took it far enough to make a systematic training regimen. Still, it's overcomplicated and notoriously annoying to learn. I'm surprised you bothered." He said to Alec with a nod of approval.
The shorter guy sighed. "My personal ability was too weak. The Fist is extremely powerful and synergizes extremely well with wind abilities. I could achieve power with it using only one Skill that I'd have needed several to accomplish with normal synergies."
Zeke shrugged. "Not a bad idea, and it clearly worked for you." He looked at the other team, clearly searching for something in their faces. "That said, I didn't come meet you all because I wanted to compliment your fighting style. I came because I have another question."
That didn't seem to be a surprise to Alec. "You want to know if we'll support him because of his parentage." I'd been wondering that too, and not having to ask was definitely helpful.
To my surprise though, Zeke shook his head with a small smile. "Children. Always so quick to jump to conclusions. No, kid. I don't want to know if you're going to back him. I want to know if you have the qualifications to do so." Alec looked confused, but I understood what he was doing. It skirted the edge of what was allowed because it showed more than they knew, but if he put it that way I was pretty sure it was allowed by the geas.
Callie must have felt it through the bond, because she braced herself as I did, grabbing my hand because I was sure we weren't going to be excluded. Looking Alec right in the eye, Zeke released his aura, letting is smash us all down into the cushions. I felt like I was drowning, being crushed by a million tons of rubble, and as I lay there looking at the other team I smiled a bit internally. If they passed this test, they'd remember this. Remember what Zeke really was. My uncle really did do the best he could to help where was able.