Ancestral Lineage

Trevor's grin widened as the very air around him vibrated with sheer excitement. His crimson aura thickened, blood mist coiling around him like sentient tendrils. Ethan, unfazed, let his golden and blue aura surge, his presence as unshakable as a mountain amidst a storm.

Then, they moved.

Trevor lunged forward, a scarlet blur streaking across the battlefield. Ethan met him head-on, his fist colliding against Trevor's, creating a concussive shockwave that sent cracks spiraling across the arena floor. They exchanged a rapid barrage of blows, their fists moving faster than the eye could track. Each impact resonated through the Colosseum, shaking its very foundation.

Trevor ducked under a hook and drove his knee toward Ethan's ribs, but Ethan twisted midair, catching Trevor's knee with his forearm before countering with a brutal elbow strike aimed at his brother's temple. Trevor barely managed to dodge, using his Blood Magic to propel himself backward in a fluid, almost unnatural motion.

Ethan smirked. "You're getting slower."

Trevor scoffed. "And you're getting cocky."

He suddenly raised his hand, and the blood mist around him condensed into razor-sharp spikes. With a flick of his fingers, they shot toward Ethan like a crimson storm. Ethan's tattoos pulsed as he waved his hand, forming an intricate alchemic barrier of golden light. The blood spikes clashed against the barrier, sizzling and fizzling away like droplets on a searing forge.

Not giving Ethan a moment to breathe, Trevor clenched his fists, and the blood beneath Ethan's feet churned unnaturally. A twisted grin formed on Trevor's lips as the arena floor erupted with massive tendrils of solidified blood, aiming to ensnare Ethan like a nest of vipers.

Ethan's eyes gleamed. He extended his hand, and with a single motion, his blood surged outward, twisting into golden-edged chains that intercepted the tendrils midair. The two blood constructs clashed, crackling with raw energy as the brothers pushed their Blood Magic to its limits.

Trevor let out a guttural laugh, his fangs bared. "Not bad! But let's see how you handle this!"

His entire body ignited in a crimson blaze, and in an instant, his arms morphed into monstrous, clawed gauntlets forged from his blood. He launched forward, each swipe of his claws carving deep gashes into the ground. Ethan expertly evaded, sidestepping, and countering with pinpoint strikes that sent bursts of golden blood flying.

Then Ethan activated his Blood Magic at full capacity.

The air around him shimmered as golden veins of blood ran through his body, his alchemic tattoos glowing brighter. He clenched his fists, and his blood took the form of twin ethereal dragons, their translucent forms wreathed in golden fire. The crowd gasped in awe as the dragons roared, launching toward Trevor with terrifying speed.

Trevor roared in response, his blood coiling into a massive crimson wolf that howled before charging at the dragons. The three constructs collided midair, sending shockwaves that threatened to bring the entire colosseum down.

Ethan and Trevor didn't stop. They moved through the battlefield like phantoms, their movements so refined and deadly that even the most seasoned warriors in the audience could hardly keep up. Every clash of their fists, every sweep of their legs, every pulse of their magic sent waves of destruction rippling through the arena.

Trevor pivoted, his body flipping midair as he sent a wave of razor-sharp blood blades toward Ethan. Ethan countered by forming a massive golden scythe out of his blood, cleaving through the incoming attack with effortless precision. Before Trevor could react, Ethan vanished—then reappeared right behind him.

A devastating kick to the back sent Trevor crashing into the ground, forming a massive crater beneath him. But he wasn't finished. The blood beneath him pulsed, and from the crater, a blood-formed Trevor emerged—an afterimage of pure sanguine energy. The real Trevor was already above Ethan, descending with a blood-forged spear in hand.

Ethan barely had time to dodge as the spear impaled the ground, sending jagged red spikes in every direction. He twisted his body, barely avoiding being skewered as he retaliated with a golden energy wave from his palm. Trevor took the hit head-on, his body skidding backward but otherwise unharmed.

Both men panted slightly, their blood crackling with energy. The audience was frozen, unable to tear their eyes away from the clash of two monstrous warriors.

Ethan grinned. "Shall we take it up a notch?"

Trevor cracked his knuckles. "Try and keep up."

As Ethan and Trevor prepared to clash once more, the entire arena quaked under the sheer force of their power. Trevor's blood-soaked smoke surged like a living nightmare, coiling around him in a crimson storm, while Ethan's Creation Magic solidified into golden, ever-shifting structures, floating around him like celestial weapons. Their auras clashed, sending ripples of power outward, shaking the foundations of the Colosseum.

Then—

BOOM!

The world around them trembled, but this time, it wasn't from their battle. An unimaginable force descended upon the Colosseum, so heavy, so absolute, that it crushed the very air around them. The golden light of Ethan's creations flickered violently, while Trevor's smog collapsed into itself like a dying ember.

Before either brother could react, a blur of motion tore through space itself—a streak of red faster than thought.

CRACK!

A single hand caught Ethan's descending fist mid-strike, stopping him dead in his tracks. At the same time, Trevor's claws, inches from Ethan's throat, were effortlessly grabbed by another hand.

A sharp gust of wind exploded outward, dispelling all the lingering energy, erasing both their attacks as if they were nothing but child's play.

The entire Colosseum went silent.

Standing between them, her tall, muscular frame casting an overwhelming shadow, was a woman whose very presence sent shivers down the spines of every being present.

Her long, wavy red hair billowed behind her, burning under the sunlight like a cascade of liquid fire. Coiled, dwarven horns, red and smooth, rested against her head, curving like a ram's, the tips glowing faintly with embers. Her dark skin shimmered with a subtle heat, betraying the dormant power lying beneath.

Her green eyes—piercing and unyielding—held the weight of the world within them. They swept over her sons like a judge preparing a sentence, a gaze so intense that Ethan and Trevor, two potentially strongest beings in existence, found themselves completely frozen.

She stood in the middle of the destruction they had wrought, dressed in nothing but a plain red hoodie, black sweatpants, and flip-flops, yet exuding a dominance that dwarfed both of them.

Trevor swallowed hard. "...M-Ma…"

She didn't say a word at first. Instead, she tightened her grip on both their wrists.

CRACK.

Trevor winced. Ethan grits his teeth.

With a single, effortless motion, she threw both of them to the opposite ends of the colosseum, their bodies slamming into the walls, leaving craters in their wake.

The arena shook once more.

The audience gasped.

She hadn't even used magic.

"You two dare act like reckless brats while a war is looming over our heads?" Her voice was calm—too calm—but it carried a weight that suffocated the air itself.

Ethan groaned, pulling himself from the rubble. "Ma, we were just—"

"Just what?!"

The entire colosseum trembled as her voice boomed, sending waves of pressure crashing down. The audience staggered in their seats.

"Just showing off?! Just wasting precious energy when you should be preparing?! Have you lost your damn minds?!"

Trevor coughed, climbing out of the debris. "We were just sparring—"

"Sparring? SPARRING?!"

Her green eyes burned, and for a moment, the entire sky dimmed as if the world itself feared her rage.

"You two are Primogenitors. Your very existence shakes the balance of reality. Every time you fight, the earth, the sky, and even the stars feel it!" She took a step forward, the ground splitting beneath her feet.

The crowd had long since stopped breathing.

"Have you forgotten what's coming? Have you forgotten why we've been preparing? The war isn't some distant nightmare anymore. It's at our doorstep!"

Ethan and Trevor stiffened at that.

"Anbord is already teetering on the edge of annihilation, and instead of strategizing, instead of preparing, you two are beating each other like a pair of idiot children?!"

Neither of them spoke.

Her eyes flickered with something deeper—something dangerous.

"You think you're ready to face what's coming?" she asked, her voice dropping to a low, lethal whisper. "Because let me tell you something, boys…"

She raised a single hand.

WHOOM!

A pulse of raw, unchecked power erupted from her palm, racing outward in an invisible wave. It spread over the entire colosseum, extinguishing every lingering trace of their magic—erasing the remnants of both Trevor's Blood Smoke and Ethan's Creation Constructs.

The battlefield was cleared in an instant.

A chill ran down Ethan's spine.

Trevor felt sweat bead down his neck.

Their mother had just undone everything they had unleashed with a single wave of her hand.

She exhaled slowly, eyes still blazing. "If you two have the energy to fight like this, then you have the energy to finish the preparations. Now."

Trevor and Ethan exchanged a glance. There was no arguing.

Ethan sighed, rubbing his temple. "...Fine."

Trevor rolled his shoulders, smirking slightly. "Tch, fine."

She turned away from them, walking toward the exit. The arena was still dead silent.

Then, she casually stretched her arms. "Good. Now, one of you better cook, because I'm hungry as hell."

And with that, she left.

The audience erupted into cheers and laughter.

Ethan and Trevor, still covered in dust, just stood there.

Trevor clicked his tongue. "Man… why is she always scarier than us?"

Ethan sighed again. "It's in the blood."

To be honest, they were just showing off a little and also proving their strength to the clan.

...

'Sigh! They still think and act like kids.' Madeleine thought as she strolled through the pathway to her residence.

"You shouldn't be hard on them, Peach. They are still kids after all." a soft voice sounded close to her ears. She turned to see her mother, Seraphina standing there, her white eyes glowing slightly.

"Mother..."

"I understand my dear daughter but you mustn't change your ways for them. They love you as you are. You needn't become strict or any such thing."

"But..."

"You are still too young to understand. All I can tell you is, be yourself, especially around those two rascals. They need it and you also need it."

"I will think... I will do as you say."

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"Good. Now I have a gift for you."

"What gift?"

"It is what I always wanted apart from you and your brother but I got something more. I can give it to you instead."

"You mean..."

"Mm."

"..."