The Lone Wanderer

Percy was about to start explaining everything to his uncle and grandpa, when somebody knocked on the door. And they did so rather eagerly too. Grabbing his bandage again from Baldy’s desk, he was about to put it back on, though he relaxed upon hearing the person speak.

“Grandpa, is Percy here?!”

It was a chirpy female voice – though a little more mature than Percy remembered. Still, he would have recognized it anywhere, regardless of how long it had been.

“Come in.” Archibald said.

Elaine didn’t even waste a second, spilling into the office like a flood. Her gaze instantly landed on Percy, her eyebrows briefly shooting up as she noticed his mutation. But she didn’t dwell much on it.

“Seriously?! You come home after being gone for 7 years and quiet for the last 2, and you don’t even bother to look for me?!” she asked, some bitterness seeping through.

“You were going to be my next stop.” Percy smiled wryly.

Elaine opened her mouth, seemingly about to snap at him again, but she held herself back upon seeing the caked blood still dirtying his clothes. Her anger faded the very next instant, as she rushed at him, hugging him tightly. Percy felt his bones creak – as always, his cousin wasn’t the best at controlling her own strength.

“Geez, I hope you don’t hug your baby brother like this.” he spat out with difficulty, getting a chuckle back.

“Ahem. Like I just told the others, this is Nesha. We actually registered on the same day, though we didn’t really get to know each other until years later.”

“Really? So, you’re just colleagues?” Elaine jabbed at him mischievously with her elbow, nearly bruising his ribs again.

“Look. It’s going to be a long story, so just grab a chair and sit like the others.” Percy rolled his eyes as he dodged the question. Though he did catch a hint of red flushing on Nesha’s cheeks.

Next, he looked at the others in the room, a little surprised they hadn’t interrupted his little reunion with Elaine. Not Baldy as much, but that prick, Galahad, was acting rather oddly today. It wasn’t like he had suddenly changed his entire worldview just because he’d learned Circulation. Percy hadn’t missed the faint traces of disdain in his uncle’s eyes – the man was still struggling to wrap his head around him and his bloodline. That said, he clearly wasn’t in a rush to outwardly dismiss or insult him anymore, opting to try and understand him a little better instead.

‘Oh well… I don’t even care…’

The only thing Percy wanted from his uncle was for him to be a strong and trustworthy leader for their family – in case something happened to Baldy. And that was something Archibald himself could vouch for, otherwise he wouldn’t have taught him Circulation in the first place. Beyond that, Percy wasn’t interested in improving his own relationship with the man.

Shrugging, he then proceeded to give his relatives a quick summary of his time in the Guild, as well as his clones’ adventures. Apparently, it wasn’t until now that Galahad finally understood how his bloodline even worked, or how it had allowed him to accomplish what he had.

Even Baldy and Elaine stared at him wide-eyed as he talked about the world of the floating cats, the demonic infestation in Takeo’s world, the bizarre technology in the Vault of Magic, or the underwater world of Atlantis. This was the first time they were hearing that the Status everyone on Remior enjoyed actually came from a Decree – the very qualification a god needed to call themselves a titan. Their jaws fell upon learning that his new eyes were the result of a brand-new Decree – which was also an excellent opportunity for him to flex his second core to his uncle.

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Of course, he did water some specific elements down, not wanting to worry everyone. While he’d talked about the mysterious girl he had possessed and the spectral trait he had acquired as a result of that, he didn’t go into detail about how that clone had died on the way back to Remior. As for the Vault, he avoided mentioning his dealings with Metatron, or the corresponding Decree, making it sound like his adventure there was more of a one-off experience than a recurring thing.

However, he didn’t shy away from bringing up his and Nesha’s connection to the Aurora Dew, as that was relevant to his family.

“Have you lost your damn mind?!” Galahad yelled, losing his composure for the first time. “What madness possessed you, to pick a fight with the Divine Order?! And to even bring this nonsense to our doorstep?!”

Percy shrugged.

“I haven’t brought anything to your doorstep, as long as nobody speaks of this conversation again. Why do you think I didn’t involve our House in the first place? If anything goes wrong, just disown me and say I did this behind your backs. It’s the truth anyway…”

Nobody spoke for a while, everyone seemingly trying to wrap their minds around this revelation. Even Baldy and Elaine found the confirmation of his involvement more shocking than anything else he had shared, despite having previously suspected it – by their own admission. In the end, it was Archibald who broke the silence first.

“Why bring it up now, then?”

“Like I said, I didn’t want to involve you – especially since I had no way of talking to you in person before now. However, now that I’m here, I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t even give you the option to benefit from the new elixirs. If you want, we can find a way for me to brew a few doses. Maybe just for the people in this room, since we don’t want it to leak.”

Next, he turned to face Galahad directly.

“Uncle, I know this is risky, but it can also be a huge boon for our family. If you could shave a few years off your next advancement, it would place our House in a better spot.”

Seeing that Percy was only thinking of them in even bringing this up, Galahad’s expression mellowed somewhat, as he discussed the issue with Archibald over the next few minutes. In the end, he shook his head, however.

“It’s tempting, but it’s probably unwise of us to accept.” he ultimately said.

Percy nodded, not pressing the issue. Honestly, he’d expected this reaction. While he and Nesha had the freedom to travel around Remior and hide from the Divine Root, this wasn’t an option for Baldy or Galahad. They couldn’t exactly bring the whole family around with them, after all. They had too many people to care for, so they couldn’t risk the secret leaking out one day.

“Very well.” he said. “I’m still hoping to get one of the petals, however.”

Galahad sighed.

“Father mentioned you might want one, back when he taught me Circulation. Honestly, I’m still against it.”

“Seriously?!” it was Elaine’s turn to snap, the girl having mostly remained quiet during the previous conversation. “Even after what he’s done for our family?! That’s just unfair!”

But the man shook his head.

“It is unfair. I’m not denying it. And if I ever become the leader of House Avalon, I can promise you now that I won’t be a fair leader.”

Galahad’s declaration left Elaine speechless, the girl struggling to find the right response. In the end, the man just continued.

“A leader’s responsibility is to ensure the family survives and thrives, not that every member feels like they’re treated fairly. Circulation has greatly boosted my power, as it has yours, and Father’s. But there is no reason why we should give up a petal to a Red-born for it, either. Besides, we can’t even justify it. We can’t speak about any of Percy’s accomplishments, so how would we explain this to the others?”

Then, he flashed Baldy a quick glance, before turning to Percy.

“That said, I’m not the current leader of the family. Father is. If he wants to go through with this madness, I can’t stop him, nor will I try.”

Percy looked at Baldy too, curious about his reaction. The man didn’t say a word, seemingly torn between Galahad’s scathing words and his unwillingness to let him down. Then, Percy chuckled.

“You aren’t wrong, Uncle. But I’ve had plenty of time to think about this issue, and I haven’t returned home empty-handed. I’ve brought something tangible to exchange for the petal, so that nobody can criticize your decision.”

“Oh?” Baldy tilted his head, the others in the room sharing in his confusion. Even Nesha didn’t look like she knew where he was going with this.

Opening his spatial amulet, Percy took out a small pouch he had stuffed in a corner, before tossing it on Baldy’s desk. The man then opened it, spilling its contents on the aged wood for all to see. The thick scent of iron soon permeated the room, as he sifted through the pile, lining the torn pieces of fabric next to one another.

Elaine wrinkled her nose in disgust, though her eyes remained glued to the objects, much like everyone else’s. 19 of them in total, of which 15 where yellow and 4 were green, all depicting the same insignia – that of a man’s face sporting a set of strangely elongated canines.

And all of them were drenched in blood…