Guild Wars

"…amazing."

This was all Conner Lord could say in reply to Henry's fantastical story about the origin of mankind and the history of the Lineages. He didn't doubt it for one second because the Leviathan confirmed it in his mind.

His horizons had been broadened, and he realized that most of the things he had been worried about were but fleeting wisps in the face of the minisculity of his own existence.

Henry, seeing his expression, chuckled. "Haha, don't think about it too much. The fact is that while humans are but a mere grain of dust in the cosmos, the same does not apply to us. The average Lineage member is as big as an elephant, while we - the God Serpent Inheritors - are as big as asteroids."

"As for the two prodigies, I'd guess that would make them sizable satellite planets, while the original humans are like planets. I'm particularly interested in meeting our Lineage's prodigy, because his existence is largely the reason for your parents' deaths."

Hearing this, Conner Lord frowned. "How so?"

Henry was silent for a while, but since he had said this much already, he decided to reveal more things. "About 20 years ago, an event occurred when the three prodigies were born. It caused a great quake in the status quo and forced us to…"

Henry narrated the events behind the birth of the three, the ensuing battle, the loss of the Lucifer Lineage, and the shameful choice made.

"It was easy enough for the Elders to make such a decision as long as it was not their own child. However, many of the younger generation and side families were disgusted by this act and broke off from the main clan, weakening us further. They settled elsewhere to live out their lives normally, none believing that the Pangu Lineage would actually stoop so low to completely ignore the agreement they made after our Lineage's prodigy had been crippled and sent out!"

Henry gritted his teeth as his eyes became red. "A few years later, once their little shit had grown up somewhat, they even had the gall to send him out to hunt down isolated families like yours in order to 'gain experience'. Because those families cut off all contact with the main branch, we had no idea of this until only recently. Thanks to the investigations of Aunt Fyre with the help of one who was just like you, Aaron Black, we learned the heinous truth."

Conner's expression darkened as well. "I remember. I'll never forget the gleeful face of that guy when he punched my father through the chest. Is he still alive?"

Henry had a strange expression here. "He is very high profile and usually causes trouble for the Amaterasu Lineage, but for a few months now, he has gone off the radar. The last we heard about him was that he was coming here, to the Central Country."

"However, his trail ends after meeting someone at the airport. He also deliberately hid most of his tracks for some reason, so my investigations had been cut short. If even I, a Platinum Rank Fixer, cannot find his whereabouts, then his Lineage should be completely in the dark as well, since their power is based solely in China. It has no reach here."

Conner frowned. "We'll probably find out when we speak to our people. I have a feeling that, if anything, our prodigy might have had a hand in this."

"Hm?" Henry exclaimed, as he realized that the possibility was there.

Unlike Conner, who had no prejudice against the prodigy, Henry was a bit unhappy towards him due to what Aunt Fyre had told him. As such, the Fixer had subconsciously eliminated them from the equation, not exactly weighing them as worthy.

Now that Conner brought this up, everything seemed to click for Henry. He also quickly wiped his subconscious prejudice away and slapped himself for letting personal feelings affect an objective evaluation.

He now had a solemn expression as his mind blazed. Aunt Fyre had told him that the prodigy was now taking care of her, and he had seen Fyre as part of the same guild that Bella was a part of.

Aunt Fyre had told him to go to the Purgatory Group, and Henry knew about this budding conglomerate that had risen to power so fast that all business tycoons in the world were suffering from whiplash.

There wasn't even any time for them to suppress or do the usual tricks to this new company before they reached a level where annexing them would cost more than one would gain from the act.

Henry right now remembered that one of this company's groups was to function as an office for players of that new VR game, namely for the number 1 guild called Umbra.

If that was the case, then Aunt Fyre leading him there meant that the group was owned by the prodigy, since she alluded to them being superior to her. So that meant that the leader of this guild in the game where his aunt was a part was the prodigy.

This, honestly, was a bit of a stretch, especially for Henry to reach with such little insider information. However, the reason he reached this conclusion, was that he was long aware that the young prodigy of the Amaterasu Lineage had absconded a while back.

She was rumored to be in the Central Country, specifically in the Central State. He even had received information that she was a part of some game and leading a top guild there.

Now, though, if he put everything together, a rough picture appeared from these snippets of data. This made Henry wonder just what his Lineage's prodigy was like and how to treat him if and when they met.

'With utter respect, that's how.' Jormungandr warned with narrowed eyes within Henry's mind.

'Oh? The great Jormungandr is willing to submit to some random kid?' Henry teased with a smirk.

'Some random kid… I wish. That fellow is the reincarnation of the one who gave us life and power. His means and his potential are far beyond the highest overestimation you have of him currently. You should stop thinking of him as merely a 'sizable satellite planet'.' Jormungandr replied solemnly.

Henry's smile disappeared. 'Interesting. I will be more respectful then, just in case, but I still enjoy my freedom. I won't submit if they're anything like that stupid monkey from the Pangu Lineage that ended up missing.'

Jormungandr remained silent, because he too could not predict how the prodigy would have developed.

On the other side, Connor was also conversing with the Leviathan.

'How come we cannot connect or control the water in this realm?' Conner asked with confusion, as they were literally riding a tsunami forward in the apocalypse realm.

'It's not that we can't, all water in the universe is subservient to us, and could be controlled. However, this is my brother's realm, doing so would not be very polite.' Leviathan answered.

'Ah, that makes sense. But if we did, could he block our control since it's his realm?' Conner queried right after.

'Yes, since it's his realm. He is the master here, and controls everything. Knowing him, he would probably just make all the water disappear, rather than wrestle with us over its control. It would require a lot of effort and investment to overtake him in terms of power.' Leviathan revealed patiently.

'Hmm.'

Connor rather liked his new power, as interfacing with the sea and its creatures made him feel some sort of inner peace. Their amiability towards him, made him feel like he had hundreds of little brothers and sisters, which was something he lacked.

He and Henry chatted for a while on their way back, with the latter mostly regaling Connor with tales about their history and their Lineage. Just as Aunt Fyre had said, while Henry wanted nothing to do with it nominally, he was still a member who had grown up there.

He still had some good memories of his time there, and truthfully, what he hated was not the Lucifer Lineage itself, but its current state, as well the ones responsible for it.

Soon, Henry opened an exit to the Apocalypse Realm with a Calamity Portal, which led to his manor in the Adirondack Mountains. When he appeared in his room, he slowly removed his Nightwalker suit and changed into a set of fashionable wear.

As for Connor, he took a look in the mirror and decided to shape his beard neatly, as it had become a bit scraggly. As for his hair, he left it as-is, because it really suited his current visage very well.

After getting ready, Henry called for a maid to prepare a car. They were going to travel by road to the Central State, rather than pop out of a Calamity Portal.

It was not too far from New York state, only a few states over. However, Connor had been based in California, which meant traveling across the entire Central Country… literally!

After having a luxury sedan prepared, Henry and Connor sat within as they were driven straight to their goal. They had quite a bit of everything in the car, from cigars, to food, to the best alcohol.

Connor was not much of a drinker, but he tried some wine. He paused when he felt the severe taste, but not the aftereffects. Henry laughed at this and told him that average wine could not take down powerhouses like them.

And so, with a wicked smile, he pulled out a yellowed flask that looked like it was almost a hundred years old and poured two glasses of murky black wine for the two of them.

Connor gulped as he sniffed the intense scent of the drink, enough that his stomach churned, and his blood pumped with fear. He had no way out as Henry had lifted his glass and waited for him.

He could only take the glass up and raise it to his compatriot before they both downed it at once. Immediately, both coughed like they had taken in raw fumes, their eyes bloodshot and their noses running.

The alcohol burned a line of fire from their tongues down their throats and eventually settled for boiling up their gastric acid crazily. They clutched their stomachs and groaned weakly, falling to the side in their seats.

In a few minutes, the eyes of both men had glazed over, their pupils large and dislocated, their expression slack and foolish.

They were absolutely bandongled, zooted, lost in the sauce, cloudwalking, and transcendent. They were no longer residents of Mother Earth, as they had long left its confines.

Henry and Connor were currently side by side, enjoying a casual walk in the Gerdo Galaxy, taking in the impressive sci-fi-like architecture and societies.

Beside Henry, one could see the label on his flask. There was a huge danger sign, and even one of immediate death. Clearly, this 'drink' was not meant for consumption, able to kill most beings.

Even Jormungandr and Leviathan were currently enjoying the effects, reminiscing their times as they caused trouble on Earth and created legends while burping happily.

It was rare for God Serpents like them to be intoxicated like this as they had to consume harsher substances back then, so this was a nice respite after years of being sealed away.