Epiphany Of The Weak 104 For Ava: The Beginning

"Ava!" called Hope.

I ignored him as my legs took me to the palace garden where my Aegis had detected an irregular presence.

"Is he here?" I asked my Aegis.

"In a few minutes . . . And he's moving relatively fast. I can't believe it."

Somehow, that winged man's presence managed to engulf the area, threatening to drown me in it. I took a few deep breaths to steady myself.

A few moments later, the others came to the garden, along with Klaus and Gheele side by side.

I looked up at the orange sky, where a figure with beautiful, peach wings had his eyes on me. "Ivar . . ."

He raised his right hand, and one of his wings elongated. It then aimed itself at us and proceeded to cut through the wind. However, it veered sharply and struck Gheele instead.

"Foolish."

A cl.u.s.ter of orange crystals in mid-air had absorbed the impact for him. The wing then retreated back to Ivar's side.

"I'm impressed. You actually saw through my attack," Ivar said towards Gheele from up there. His wings flapped a few times and he descended until he was only thirty feet above us.

"Was that a greeting, slave?" said Gheele with a smirk.

"Why, of course. Haha. Just to see if the feared Gheele Folami is actually worth my time."

Gheele raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Insolence and ignorance fit you well. Honestly, you're nothing but a slave with wings for a brain." He then laughed at his own statement. "Don't you agree with me, winged slave?!"

Ivar glared at him, and Gheele returned it with his own glare.

I gulped.

Just having those two in the same place made me shudder, and the others felt the same as well.

Their menacing auras clashed, trying to put each other down mentally speaking. The air felt heavy, and sweat started to trickle down my forehead.

"Y-You!" yelled Klaus. He had broken free from the ropes tying his hands. As his body was shaking, he pointed at Ivar. "Ivar, The Second Pillar, he's dangerous!"

Caesar tilted his head at him. "Uh, we know that already."

Klaus shook his head. "No, no. You don't understand. That Aegis Förena's specialty . . . Is just broken."

"The Pillars have the new Aegis Förena implanted inside them," I muttered.

Klaus looked at me. "His specialty is that he can manipulate any Aegis crystals that are not his. Let's just say," he then looked at Lily, "if Lily is to activate her Full Aegis Form, Ivar can just manipulate her whole body since it's made up of Aegis crystals."

Hope's eyes widened. "So, the underground crystals back at Khovd was not his. He doesn't really have his own crystals and that wings are not from his own Aegis. It must be from a different User. Basically, he borrowed another Pillar's Aegis crystals and uses as he sees fit."

Ivar clicked his tongue. He narrowed his eyes at Hope as his wings stretched open. "Hope Domitius. Your Aegis specialty is Banishing. In other words, your Aegis crystals absorb another User's crystals and stockpile it inside you. When you want to unleash it, the absorbed crystals will be converted into an energy wave similar to that of a plasma."

Hope's jaw dropped at his explanation. "H-How do you know? I'm sure only those from The People's Light have that information."

"Are you telling me Amathelia doesn't know about your Aegis?" He gestured at everyone else. "The same goes to all of you. The First is not dumb. She will be the new beacon of light that the world will rely on someday."

"Amathelia knows about the Users?" mumbled Lily.

Gheele cleared his throat and looked at Ivar. "I see that you're hesitating in attacking me again. If you can really manipulate my crystals, then I dare you to do so, slave."

Ivar laughed maniacally. "I don't need to. After all, that's not the reason why I come here today. Amathelia ordered me to do one thing, and I will only do just that. No more, no less."

I took a few steps forward and stood in front of everyone else. My red and blue eyes glared at Ivar. "Why are you here?! You come to see me again, is that it?"

"Big Sis . . ." Ivar lowered his head. "I'm afraid that is not the case this time around." He looked at me with sad eyes, which caught me off guard. "Amathelia sent me here because she has a message for all of you, especially Big Sis."

"So she did escape from the lab," exclaimed Agatha.

"Actually, Mara used her Phasing specialty to help us get out of those liquid chambers. We left our own replicas there, but to think that no one actually noticed that . . ." Ivar then sighed. "I'm not here to fight you guys, so please, restrain yourself."

"What makes you think you can order me, slave?" said Gheele mockingly.

"Well, this bit of information might interest you." He coughed. "As of right now, Amathelia is the new ruler of The Great Corporate United."

"What?!" I said. The rest were shocked by his statement as well.

"The Four Pillars are her knights from this day onward, but as for Big Sis . . ." He smiled at me. "You don't have to do anything. There's no need for you to get involved since you've been through so much."

"Hold on . . . You're lying. There's no way His Supremacy--"

"We took him down, Miss Agatha Ife," Ivar interjected. He spread his hands towards us. "Amathelia herself had proposed the A.V.A plan for all of us! A few days from now, everyone from the C.U regardless of their ranking and position in the society will be involved. Those who have been deemed wrong by Amathelia will be executed!"

"W-What?" I stammered. "V-A plan?"

He clapped his hands and laughed. "It's in your honor, Big Sis. All of this is dedicated to you only. Accorded Vehement Action, or, A.V.A."

"You will kill everyone?! yelled Caesar.

His sudden change of tone made me shivered.

"Everyone that is condemned vile and heinous by Amathelia, Kurt Holm," said Ivar.

"But . . . Why Ava? The name of your plan . . . You're all crazy! This is just a worldwide scale purging and extermination!" I said.

Ivar just smiled at me, and I clenched my fists.

"The six of us makes up our family, Big Sis. We must eliminate anyone who has the slightest chance of breaking our bonds," he said.

"Aaaargh!" A ma.s.sive crimson battleax emerged from my back. It darted at Ivar as its edges were engulfed in white flames.

However, with just a wave of his hand, my battleax shattered into pieces. It crashed onto the garden and Ivar bowed slightly.

"So sorry Big Sis Ava. It's just that . . . Your Aegis is as beautiful as ever, much like you," he said. "Hmm?"

Giant, orange blades swung at him in mid-air from his rear.

"Weakling."

With another wave of his hand, the blades shattered before it could even touch him.

"No matter how many of you Aegis Users come at me, there's no chance for winning."

Lily gritted her teeth, restraining herself from using her Full Aegis Form against him. Caesar had formed a javelin and spear in his hands, but he knew too well it wouldn't work anyway.

"Big Sis Ava," Ivar said. "Amathelia deeply wishes for you to see the new world she will shape. It is only for your eyes to gaze upon, Big Sis."

I clenched my fists, and for some reason, my eyes were tearing up. "Why . . . Why you do all this? For me? I don't want that! Many people have suffered because of me, and they will soon experience it again."

I shook my head. "No, I will save them."

Ivar nodded. "Do as you please. You have the highest authority among the Pillars." He flapped his wings. "Please remember, Big Sis, that Amathelia's love for you is incomparable to the rest of us. She adores you dearly even now, as we speak . . . Goodbye."

Tears poured out of his eyes and he flew far away into the horizon.

'Amathelia loves me,' I thought. At that moment, time seemed to stop moving.

'I never met this Amathelia . . . But why I get this feeling that I know her?' I thought.

Hope patted at my head and I looked at him, and then everyone else in the garden.

'Who exactly is Amathelia?' That thought stuck in my head for the rest of the day. I kept thinking about Ama, and for once in my life, I actually wished to meet that unknown person.