The Extra's Rebellion
Chapter 107: Quick praise me

Chapter 107: Quick praise me

"What kind of family were you born into?".

Merin’s voice cracked across the silence like a whip. She stood across from Zephyr, the diagram clutched in one hand, her other clenched into a trembling fist. Her anger was wild

"Does morality not exist in your clan, what kind of hate does it take to do this to a child?".

She was staring at the internal scan— his request, the moment he’d woken up. He had wanted to know what they had turned him into.

And the answer was... devastating.

"Look at your Hearth," she said through clenched teeth, slamming the diagram onto the table between them.

In normal humans, the Aether Hearth was a simple organ— the heart, but evolved. An evolution that was dedicated solely to drawing in and circulating Aether. An advancement in realm increases the amount of Aether heart in the body.

Zephyr had nine.

Two of them were doubled— twinned like corrupted embryos— while the others floated beneath his ribcage, only two halves of the Aether hearth art were beating. The others were... Dead.

"Every time you ascend in rank and forms another hearth, it becomes a twin". Merin hissed.

And it didn’t stop there.

She pointed to his spine. "This? This isn’t human. This structure—this isn’t even from something that walks."

She paused, voice low now. Disbelieving. "It’s a vestigial flight column. The kind found in winged Rift-beasts..."

Then came the veins—Flowing through his veins was a foreign blood and wherever it flows through, ash remains. The scan showed residual trails of an unknown substance— Starfall Ash.

"Zephyr, this stuff doesn’t belong in the human body. It’s corrosive".

He already knew. He remembered.

Zephyr was sure that this was the reason for his former condition, when it felt like rusted iron was forced down his throat, where breathing becomes hard and he had to suppress it using his inhaler.

The idea that it was because of him being devoid of Aether was completely bullshit. He had lived it and he knew that it was after he was injected that weird substance that the symptoms started showing.

They lied. About all of it.

Starfall Ash was a rare substance, found only at the peak of Mount Boron— so high it Peirced the clouds. The only known equivalent was the residual dust from Starfire, wielded by one of the royal clans.

And somehow... it was in his blood.

Merin leaned back, eyes hollow, her cigarette shaking as she lit it. She took a long drag before exhaling with a bitter laugh.

"What the hell has the Demios Clan become?"

Little was known about Demios clan, it was only recently that their borders were open, that was why they were so few Demios members in the school, infact the members of Demios clan in the school could be counted by one hand.

"Do you hear me?.... Zephyr". He finally lifted his head to look at her.

"I hear you". His voice was hoarse, like he had been screaming for hours.

Silence settled between them as they each fell into their own thoughts.

Zephyr didn’t even know how to react, was he angry? Sure, did he hate the clan? With all his being. Did he want to burn it to the ground? .... Yes.

But then he thought back to Keal warnings and what did he say to that.

’Screw his warnings and the war, i am going to end that clan". He wanted nothing but to stroll over they and battle, but he knew he was too weak for that his actions to cause even the slightest discomfort to Demios clan.

That was why he was going to Limbo first.

"Aren’t you going to ask questions". He spoke again clearing the silence that enveloped them.

"Hey don’t you speak about it, hell don’t even think it. Do you know the amount of damage you have done to yourself". He had given her a basic rundown of him diving into his memory with the ability of the eye.

But she wasn’t wrong, Zephyr couldn’t stand the colour black and....

A set of footsteps echoed down the corridor, soft but hurried.

But to Zephyr, it was a war drum. He flinched instinctively.

His entire body tightened— shoulders locking, fingers twitching near his side, breath held sharp and shallow. Like a bowstring pulled taut, waiting to snap.

The room hadn’t changed, they was no danger. But his body didn’t know that.

His body remembered darkness.

His pupils shrank as his skin flushed cold. The footsteps stopped just outside the door.

He almost stood up to run.

Until he was pulled back to reality when he felt Merin’s gentle hand on top his.

"It’s okay". He breathed out, before reaching for a inhaler in the table and begun to inhale rapidly from it.

"Miss Merin.... A message for you". His name was James, Zephyr had net him a few times, he was part of Merin squad in the war.

He was the weakest and served as a messager for the squad, mind you he was Delta rank, but when he was drafted to Merin squad, he was just but a messager.

"What does it say". Merin responded.

"It’s classified information ma’am, I don’t know the content". He replied from outside the door.

"Bring it in". James walked in, and stood in front of Merin and saluted her before presenting a scroll.

Merin waved her hand gesturing for him to excuse himself. He saluted again, before nodding at Zephyr before leaving.

Zephyr also returned the nod before he left, at the sound of the footsteps, Zephyr begun to rapidly inhale from the inhaler again.

’Damn it’.

He stared as Merin went through the scroll, her expression changing widely, some times relief, sometimes angry, sometimes sad.

’Demios clan has to go, this world won’t contain the both of us’. Zephyr was no longer confused, he now knew what he wanted. ’but first, I need to get stronger first, if I reach Delta rank, I would be able to contend with with Keede. She was at Delta rank.

How did he know? Let’s just say Keede isn’t very secretive.

"Do you have an idea what Limbo is". Retaining his sanity was a surprise to even Zephyr, looking at what he had lived through, it was a surprise that he could even think.

But Aether was a miraculous energy, a bady that wasn’t talking at ten months old, was already considered a late bloomer. And Zephyr mind was not only strengthened by Aether, it was also strengthened by his eye, the unfiltered information 360° he received strengthened his mind.

And let’s not forget he had another perspective, a 360° perception overlapping his original perception.

’i need to come up with a name for my eye, I can’t keep calling it ’the eye’... Hmm lets go with Omen eye. It does have something to do with revelations, no?’.

He shook his head as he focused on Merin’s words.

"Limbo is a very fancinating place, ten years ago in order to recreate the transportation prowess of UmbraFen clan, they lunched an expedition to Limbo."

While the other clan funneled their funds towards war and the likes, UmbraFen clan channeled their’s into exploring the Second dimension— Shadow realm.

They succeeded and revolutionized then entire transportation system, so the DuskFall clan still a little clan back then, tried to recreate the glory of UmbraFen clan they lunched an expedition to limbo.

The entire group consisting of Thirty Delta ranked individuals and ten Gamma ranked individuals. Only one person survived and came back, according to him before he died of depression. They spawned directly in the layer of a Beta ranked creatures.

The only reason he was able to escape was because he was the only one that was able to win the twisted game of the creature. The DuskFall clan withdrawed from expedition, but the fire still burned, that was how they focused on weaponry and it was what paved the way for them to become one of the four grand clan.

"Sucks for them, why are you even asking though?". She didn’t raise her head from the scroll that she was reading. "Now that I think of it, you Art originated from Limbo right?". But before he could respond she spoke again, but this time her tone was serious.

"No!". Zephyr eyes twitched. ’how did she know, I haven’t even asked her yet’. But he didn’t give up.

"Your perception is amazing, I wo—

"Save it! Flattery won’t get me to change my mind".

"Ohh I was about to compliment your lip gloss. Sigh I think I will just save it".

"My lip gloss is natural and the best I the entire world".

’Right’. Zephyr rolled his eyes at her.

Merin not hearing any more praise raised her head to look at him, he immediately felt a chill run through his spine as she glared at him.

’scary’. Zephyr swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Hmm your skin is nice too, how do you take care of it despite being in a war".

"Hehehe". Merin giggled before replying. "It a secret, but trust me it’s all natural". Then with a mischievous look in her eyes she placed her hands underneath her chest, pushing it upward making it bigger then usual.

With a clear expression that said ’quick praise them’.

Zephyr swallowed another lump before saying. "T-they are bountiful".

"Right, my girls are going to upset any other girls. Kekekekeke".

Zephyr let a quiet chuckle escape his lips, he knew she was trying to cheer him up. And it was clearly working.