Chapter 29.5

(Scarabia)

"You sure you packed everything?" asked Mazaru as he watch his younger brother prepare for school.

"Yup!" Exclaimed Reius as he and Chibi tried their very best to close their suitcases, filled pack with their belongings.

Sweat dropping, Iman reminded them it was going to be a long days journey before they reached the train station, and that it wasn't necessary to pack so much.

"I guess you're right but I want to be ready to make friends!" Finally having closed the suitcase Reius collapsed onto his bed, tired before sitting up," Where's Neelam?"

Iman simply sighed before slumping against the wall, " Who knows what that girl's up to. recently, she's been real secretive on her outings.....better hope its not a boy.."

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.

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"REIUS, WE'LL GOING AHEAD! MAKE SURE NOT TO BE LATE ALRIGHT AND BE CAREFUL!" shouted Mazaru as he and Iman ran out of the room, praying that their worst thoughts would not be answered.

"Hey chibi, do you know what's up with them."

At this moment, Chibi couldn't help but face palm, disbelief at how stupid his master was.

Reius then stood up, his eyes were steeled as he walked out. Down the wooden steps, he found his way into the kitchen. Lightly knocking the door, the servants turned to look at him before one handed him a silver tray with food placed on top.

Thanking the servant, Reius steadily took the tray up to another flight of stairs . Finally after a long while, he found himself in front of a wooden door. Quietly he opened it, the smell of soft incense filled the air.

The room was strangely dark, hard for Reius to see. Turning around to on the lights, he said in a gentle tone, " Mother it's time for breakfast...mother?...."

(Arborea)

"Once again, I say please be careful with the prince's belongings!" exclaimed Alfred as he double checked on the list of items, settled on the carriage ready to leave.

Finally ticking off the last of the lists, Alfred turned his heels, speedily walking up the palace stairs to wake his little prince.

"Excuse me Mr Celci, but could you spare some of your time for me?"

Alfred stopping in his tracks turned to face the source of the voice. Standing behind him was a young beastia man with wavy auburn hair and a pair of fox ears. His eyes were a blue-violet. He wore an elegant purple suit in shades of purple, a golden tassel on his shoulders and a plate of armour was tied with a rope.

"Daniel, what can I do for you?"

Daniel smiled before pulling out an envelope from his pocket, handing it to Alfred, " Please take this to his highness." With that, Daniel bowed and left.

Alfred stared down at the envelope in his hand, eyeing the seal and sighing. He then resumed climbing the stairs, finally reaching an ornate emerald coloured door. Softly, he opened it.

Alexander's bedroom was very big and decorated beautifully with a large assortment of flowers. Giving it a certain ethereal feel. Alfred approached the bed slowly, opening the curtains and whispering softly in Alexander's ear, " Your highness, wake up. We have a big day ahead."

Alexander did not move a bit, his eyes closed and still peacefully asleep.

Alfred couldn't help but frown a little, it had been months since the prince had trouble waking up. It was usual for him to enjoy sleeping but never to the point where he would be unable to.

Plucking a feather from a nearby bird flying by, he brushed it against his master's nose. Each time the feather brushed against his skin, Alexander's face grew more irritable until finally he leaped out of the bed, his face flushed red.

"ALFRED! ENOUGH WITH THE FEATHER ALREADY! I swear you're going to make the birds bald one day!" shouted Alexander as he flung the covers off.

'that'll be a sight to see..' thought Alfred almost amusingly as he imagined a naked bird fly

Alexander puffed his cheeks like a little kid, his eyes landing on the envelope in his aide's hand, asking, " What's that?"

Alfred almost froze, knowing full well what the reaction would be but taking deep breaths, placed a smile on his face before handing it to him.

"A letter sent by Duke Rosewald."

Cold air suddenly filled the room, tentatively Alexander opened the letter. Inside a single piece of paper scented with the smell of roses.

Reading the elegant handwriting, Alexander eyes grew wide before ripping the paper to shreds, throwing them into the nearby paper bin.

"That guy ...seriously...."

(Koun Empire)

Isamu sat at his desk. Trying his very best to remain sane under the ongoings of the house.

Ever since the death of his step-father, things have been chaotic under his mother's hand. No one in the family dared go to her, with most heading to him instead causing an increase in paperwork.

In hopes of soothing his mind, Isamu's hand moved towards his coffee cup however just as he was about to reach for it when he suddenly burst into a fit of coughs causing the cup to fall to the ground shattering into pieces.

Rubbing his chest to sooth the pain, Isamu folded up the sleeve of his dress shirt, his veins glowed a strange blue before finally dying down.

Slumping against the back of his chair, Isamu took deep breaths before finally leaving his office ordering the servants to clean up the mess.

' I don't have much time left..' he thought as he walked down the wet passageway, damp from the ongoing rain. His thoughts were disrupted when he came across with Lady Kim. An entourage of priests followed behind.

Her black hair was styled in a twisted up do, letting some strands to fall as braids. She wore a peach coloured hanfu with lace sewn at the ends of each sleeve. A golden crown lay on top of her head with two long chains attached, each end had a single diamond encrusted. The rest of the its parts were adorned with Jade, at least 77 pieces.

"Isamu, what a coincidence." she said, smiling gently.

Isamu said nothing, knowing full well that there was no love in her eyes despite her smile.

"Greetings to her majesty, empress Kim." said Isamu as he bowed. His eyes suddenly widened. Surrounding his mother were flying black particles, glowing an ominous purple.

'Black miasma!'

"Isamu?" lady Kim continued smiling as she moved towards her son, " I'm starting to want to talk to you. You're so big now...let mommy get a good look at your face.."

However as lady Kim's hands were about to touch Isamu's face, when he pushed her away. A scowl present in Isamu's face as he looked at his mother with piercing blue eyes.

Surprise overtook Lady Kim's face before returning to her ever present smile, raising her sleeved arm to her mouth, "Oh my you've learned to scowl well, haven't you? Just like the others used to, at long last..."

"What?!"

Lady Kim simply turned sideways, closing her eyes for a second reminiscing about the past, " That day...I didn't care one bit about you or the ming brothers, too bad Ming Han passed away but maybe...Ming Yao, should perish too, don't you think?"

At this, Lady Kim turned to look at him, her eyes instantly glowed red.

That was the last straw as huge gust of wind blew and light encased Isamu. A ice spear conjured in his hand. Golden miasma surrounded him as Isamu leaped forward, as he attempted to lend a hit against his mother.

A glowing shield manifested encasing the Lady Kim from the attack. However, the impact sent the priests flying back. As a combination of white and black Miasma made contact with each other, Isamu trying his hardest to break the barrier as Ice slowly spread across the floor.

Electricity around them grew, as the miasma flew even more wildly, Isamu's grip on his spear slowly breaking as the handle grew close to breaking. Panicked, Isamu subconsciously created even more ice, in hopes of trying to repair the spear.

lady Kim simply smiled before manifesting the barrier to grow, till it allowed Isamu's spear to partially go true. Moving forward, she placed a hand on her son's face, softly whispering into his ear, " That's enough."

Nullifying the barrier, the shockwaves caused Isamu to fly back and crashed into a wall. Debris falling onto the frozen ground as Isamu struggled to stand back up, using his spear as support. His face was bruised and bloodied, however he continued standing.

Lady Kim's smile did not waver as she got closer to him. Her Miasma then suddenly grew, causing gravity around Isamu to push him down. Till he could barely moved. Patting his head, she said, " All you have to do is be my adorable Isamu for the remainder of your life."

The gravity around Isamu finally lightened as she left, the priests scurrying behind her.

Tears started to drip from Isamu's eyes as he sobbed. The rain damping his clothes as he lay nearly lifeless on the ground. As pearl shaped tears rolled down his cheeks, isamu couldn't help but wonder what happened to his mother who was once so kind and gentle.

(Flashback)

Walking down a courtyard, a younger Isamu bawled his eyes out.

"What's wrong, Isamu?"

Looking up from his tears, Isamu came face to face with his mother. Her wavy black hair cascaded down her waist, with a small bun pinned with a silver clip at the top. She wore a white hanfu with a blue scarf around her arms. Her eyes and smile were both gentle, calming the four year old down a little.

Sniffling, Isamu recounted the details of his nightmare to his mother.

"I had a frightening nightmare....Father....brothers...sisters....cousins...and even mother....everyone was killed by the remnants of an enemy kingdom...only Ming Han,Azuka and I survived."

Using her hands to wipe away the tears, Lady Kim said, " Isamu...Everything's alright. Let me tell you the a 'truth', ok?"

"Truth?..."

Placing Isamu in her arms, Lady Kim carried him through the complex walkways till finally they reached a large wooden house .

Inside, a group of both teenagers and children played.

A man with long purple hair stood at the centre, reciting a poem while his bodyguard sat at the side, eating mochi. A man with blonde hair and a scary aura attempted to shut him up. A girl with green hair wearing a 12 layer kimono was talking with a beastia boy with red hair. At another end, a bespectacled green haired man with green hair and a pair of rabbit ears, played a game with a couple of kids as several other teenagers looked over from the side.

"I can't take you outside but I can show you this."

"This?"

"Isamu...always remember that there is nothing to fear, because the members of the main house, your older brothers and sisters are right by your side ready to protect you."

Hearing this, Isamu smiled before nodding his head. excitedly asked to be put down as he ran to join his siblings and cousins.

(Flashback end)