Einder Bloodline

Chapter 27: Trial of Fire

On the face of continuous challenges, human beings as a species have managed to last long mainly due to their magnificent resilience, be it draughts or storms they would always find a way to carry on.

Cray, as a human himself also shares this common characteristic, however, on the face of the absurd resiliency can only get you so far. That is why to face the impossible, the supernatural is needed.

Upon opening his eyes he was once again surprised by the fact that there was once again an unfamiliar ceiling. This has already happened to him for so many times consecutively that this time, it did not bother him as much.

When he realized it, he was once again back inside the long corridor that he saw after he was taught how to use his power. In the corridor, one would be able to see a room that opens up a big space where a roundtable with five chairs placed around it located in the center.

On those chairs, three men were sitting leaving only two empty chairs on the far left of the table. These men did not mind the fact that Cray entered the room as they seemed to be busy looking at the screen in front of them. This has also attracted Cray's attention as he too began looking at the screen only to see an image of himself.

"Eh? Is that me? But since when can I do that?" He was doubtful as he began to realize that even though it was him who was moving around the screen, those movements that the Cray of the screen was doing were incredible and he knew that he would not be able to move as agilely nor mimic the actions that were continuously happening.

The other deciding fact was that he knew that he could never shoot out black flames from his hands. Momentarily recalling how he was once taught by his father, he once again realized that those movements were nearly identical to what he was shown which he found strange.

While he was in the middle of contemplating, a rough voice called out to him. "Oh, Funf? You're already here huh. I see, why don't you sit here with grandpa?" Though he said that he's a grandpa neither his voice nor his looks didn't appear like it should be coming from an old man. Regardless Cray decided to accept that as is.

He silently moved and sat towards one of the empty chairs that were nearest to him. "No, not there. You can't sit on that. You sit on the other one." A man who was wearing frames told me as he pointed towards the farthest seat. "Uhm... Yeah, sure."

As he sat he noticed that it was quite comfortable, his whole body felt relaxed as if he had just taken a refreshing cold shower in the middle of a hot and dry summer morning. "So, do you know why you're here right now?" The man who was on the very right asked me with a very chilling tone.

"Uhmm, can you give me a clue? I'm sorry I don't know." What's with this situation? Why are they looking at me like that? Anyways this isn't my first time being inside this dark corridor and the reason that I was here was that I was captured by the enemy. As various kinds of thoughts emerged from Cray's head he began to slowly assess his current situation by recalling everything that happened before awakening on this strange place.

And at that time, it all led him to one conclusion. It was an undeniable fact that he had felt back then and that was the fact that "I died, didn't I?"

Remembering the crushing feeling that he felt when his neck was being constrained, he immediately took a glance at his neck and gently touched the place where he felt the pain from. "It's gone. Not even a mark" He then looked at both his arms and legs with a similar expression.

"Hey boy! Can you pay a little attention to the current situation?" The man with the glasses quickly reminded Cray that he still in front of these strangers.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm so confused about all that's happening right now. I give up. I don't think I can make a guess and know what's happening anymore."

The man who had just scolded me made a sigh. His displeasure could be seen clearly as if he was blatantly showing it by making a loud grunt.

"Is this even our fifth descendant? His scrawny body makes him look weak. This critter can't even use his powers." He continued to grumble.

Hearing this, only one thought came to mind. This man is really rude. However, Cray did not let it appear on his face as he continued to inspect the surroundings more but before he could do so, he was once again disturbed.

"My son he- No. You see, your father is supposed to be seated here." He pointed at the chair that Cray initially tried to sit down on.

"Do you have any clue as to why he isn't here right now?" The man with glasses then continued to ask me.

"No, I don't have an ide- Wait, could it be?" It was at this moment when Cray got a moment of eureka as he once again took a peek at the screen that was in front of him. "Is he controlling my body right now?" Based on what they were saying, this was the only thing that they might have been hinting at. Though it sounded so unreal he had no say in the matter as it had always been this way since he had opened that damned box on his birthday.

'Yes, your father is currently burning his last embers for the sake of making you survive." The man who said that had a very sad look in his eyes. It was as if he was seeing something that made him feel pity and regret.

"Embers?" Unconsciously, Cray tilted his head towards the side as he asked. "Are you referring to the flame that he's using?"

The man in front of him shook his head as he began to explain. "Your father is using his flame imprint that he left in the necklace that you were wearing, every time that he uses the flames that he had stored, the weaker his soul imprint becomes. And once that imprint is completely gone then it would only mean that any trace of him that was left would be completely wiped out as he would no longer be even able to sustain himself here." With a sigh, the man gave a sidelong glance at the now empty chair.

"Eventually leading his existence to the abyss. And so will everything that was stored and had left behind in here." The man that was the furthest away from me added. His cold voice was deadly serious.

"That is also the reason why you are summoned here. You need to succeed him. Taking on his entire existence before he completely burns out all of his life's embers." The rude man wearing the spectacles continued.

"Wait, what do you mean by taking on his everything?" At this point, Cray was lost in this conversation. Even though he knew what they were saying, he could not understand it completely. He began to feel the unease in the atmosphere as he looked at the three men who were sitting parallel to him.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do anything wrong?" The man who claimed to be his grandfather simply closed his eyes. "It's a bit too early but I hope you do manage to complete it."

Once Cray heard those words, he began to feel a little bit nervous. "What? Complete what? I don't understand. Can you please elaborate more?"

Right before he even able to argue with them, he was immediately disrupted.

"AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh Wha- WHAt is this? Why AM I Floating?" He desperately held unto his chair, but his hands had slipped from its handle.

 His whole body was dragged from the chair towards one of the five doors that were previously locked moving straightly towards the one as Vier.

The door then widely opened as my body accelerated towards it. Then all of a sudden,

*BANG*

The door was slammed shut, leaving him inside a dimly lit room.

"Where is this?"

"HEY!"

"Can anyone hear me?"

"LET ME OUT!"

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

But nobody had replied to his futile screams.

Back to where the three men were still seated, the man wearing the glasses had asked the man who claimed to be Cray's grandfather.

"Are you sure about this? What if he can't take it all on his own? He is the only descendant left, you know?"

"I know, but didn't you hear what Vier said? The kid had the greatest compatibility with him, he would probably get at least about a fifty percent chance to become capable of using all of his powers even if he takes on the trial of fire this early."