Chapter 68: A Mother’s Son

  The hounds at the bottom separated like a biblical ocean, letting him pass without so much as a snap of their mouths. Whether his uncle was controlling these hounds was irrefutable at this point, seeing them act unlike anything ever seen anywhere else.

  His uncle smiled as Erik walked closer, entering a circle of downtrodden grass that was clear of any beasts in it, his uncle in the centre.

  “Erik! Thank you for accepting my invitation. It’s been a while since I had any contact with…anyone, really,” his uncle greeted.

  “Uncle John. Why are you doing this?” Erik greeted coldly, impressing himself with how calm he could keep his voice in this situation. He knew his uncle was likely far stronger than he and Jessie were, even without the army of monsters at his beck and call.

  John’s smile vanished as he looked down on the ground in front of him. “Straight to it, huh? I don’t blame you. For what it’s worth…it is good to see you, kid.”

  “Yeah…you too, Uncle John.”

  “Thanks, kid. As for why…let me start by telling you about my death and the past three years…”

  John was on his way home from a business trip when he lost focus on the road, losing control of his car in a sharp turn. The wet asphalt from the pouring rain sent his car straight into the roadside barrier.

  The car’s speed proved too much for the barrier, and the car broke through. The barrier wrapped around the car, crushing it even before it fell down the steep, rocky hill on the side of the road.

  John remembered nothing after the initial impact, at least until the bland rooms and hallways of Afterlife. There, he spent most of his time in his room, the only other person to talk to him being a weird old lady in the fake city centre-like area in the main hall. She was a wackjob, though if nothing else than to preserve his sanity, he talked with her from time to time.

  It wasn’t until the portal arrived for him that he had to believe her fantastical stories, spending the next week draining her of what information he could until the portal sucked him in. The suction was so powerful that there was nothing he could do to stay any longer, no matter what he clambered onto. In a flash, he was back on the side of the road in the middle of the night.

  He was naked, growing colder and wetter by the second, but he had a mission in mind. John walked through half the night, arriving in his hometown just a few hours before daybreak. He entered his great-aunt Ida’s house in the silence of night, rummaging through it to find clothes and food.

  His primary objective came next, the reason he went to this place first: Ida was an avid rock collector in her younger days and had entire rooms in her house filled with them. She had packed them all out after her husband died, and John had helped her.

  Several rocks called to him in a deep, almost spiritual way. John was far from religious, but if the wacky old lady’s words were anything to go by…he might become a god himself. The thought of power was…enticing. He had been sick of his job for years before he died, but didn’t bother looking for something else, feeling too old to start fresh. It had been years since he felt even a tinge excited about something.

  He gathered up just enough rocks to fill the circular shapes on his new-grown tattoo, one depicting a black flame on his chest. It made him look like a biker. He hated it. The nine rocks that called on him the most, he took, and left right after—his great-aunt Ida still in a heavy slumber in her bed.

  What the wacky old lady in Afterlife hadn’t told him was how hard and exhausting taking in those stones would be. He spent weeks absorbing and resting while in hiding. During those weeks, he confirmed that three months had passed. Three months he’d been dead to everyone he once knew. He even visited his own grave.

  The nine stones went inside him. One third of the fire symbol on his chest gave him the ability to control black fire, see in the dark and summon a black sword that burned what it cut.

  The second row was difficult for him to figure out at the beginning. It wasn’t until later that those three abilities made their effect known.

  The third part of the fire, the final three circles, allowed him to change aspects of his body, an aura control power, and laser beams from his eyes.

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  Getting all these powers into him meant the first stage was complete. The innate power he didn’t need to absorb gave him the feeling that he needed something else to use it on, and it wasn’t long until he stumbled upon a collared dog in the woods near where he was staying. The dog was perfect. His main power, John called it Darkbeast, mutated the bitch into a large, demonic hound, loyal to his every whim.

  When this happened, he also realised the use of his second row of abilities. The first was the power of growth, or multiplication in living things. The second was a commanding power, allowing him to give lasting commands to his Darkbeast. Finally, there was the mind-sharing ability, allowing him to see what his beast saw and smell what it smelled.

  When he found his Darkbeast to be pregnant, the importance of these powers couldn’t be overstated. As she birthed three pups, each a clone of its brethren and as demonic as their mother, he found he could give the puppies directions as well. The power he saw the least use of in the first couple of years was the growth power.

  His demonic hounds had nothing to do in modern society and would only cause havoc if discovered. John kept them hidden and gave them standing orders to never go far off. Them not needing food was a godsend. Those two years, John trained. His physical shape improved week by week, and he became stronger than anyone else. Sadly, he was far from having the strength of a god…for now.

  John was happy living the hermit life. He couldn’t believe it himself at first, and he still missed his family. His brother most of all.

  After two years, an odd man came to see him. He had long, silvery hair, was nothing but skin and bones, and he was clad in clothes fit for a glam rocker: tight leather and a glittering shirt. The man had observed him for some time, he had said, but John was certain that couldn’t be the case. He’d notice.

  “I have use for you,” the man said, ignoring John’s retort.

  “Leave. Now. Or I’ll make you,” John threatened.

  The silver-haired man laughed. If he only knew! John sicced a hound on him and turned away, having no want to see the gruesome affair. The dog whined and…died.

  “You’re not all the way there yet, are you? Even after two years. Someone didn’t pay much attention in class. Afterlife’s still there, right?”

  John froze. Of course. He could sense it now. The man had an aura as well. How did he miss it until now? He grimaced at his own stupidity, his overconfidence. This man’s aura was even stronger than John’s.

  “What do you want?” asked John, his two other soldier dogs gathering closer to him, positioning themselves between the two Remnant men.

  “Want? A bunch of things. What you are going to give me, however…is very specific,” the man smiled wryly. “You…are going to take over the world for me.”

  “And you didn’t even fight him for it?” Erik asked as Uncle John finished his story.

  “Of course I fucking fought. He beat me half to death several times over, and he was just playing with me. In the end, I had no choice…but I’m not as against it now, I must admit.”

  “Power got to you, huh?”

  “Yeah, I guess. But consider this: I’m just using my powers the way they are designed to. That Darkbeast bitch is quite the puppy factory with my growth power. I assign every one of them a command to go to point A, do B, then defend the area. I like to watch…sometimes. They aren’t intelligent, sure, but they get the job done. They’re unmanned, autonomous drones fighting a war against a people that can’t even hurt them. Humanity’s weak, Erik!”

  “If that’s how you see it, then I’m sure you wouldn’t mind me using my powers to fight you. Just using my powers how they were designed, after all,” Erik argued.

  John laughed and said, “We’re the same, kid. You and me. Why don’t we stop this and gang up on that silvery weirdo? I’ll even let the girl over there join.”

  “Why did you kill me and my parents? Your own brother?”

  John’s grin faded to a more solemn smile as he answered, “Control, I guess. I was being forced to do this, and I wanted…I wanted my brother to come with me on this journey. There was even a chance you’d be reborn as well, considering you’re his child. I set a pair of pups to watch the house, but I guess you got away. Your dad didn’t make it, I figure.”

  “If he had, you would’ve had to kill him all over again, or he’d find a way to stop you himself,” Erik said through gritted teeth.

  “Please, kid. We don’t have to take over the world. I don’t want that, not even now! If we can kill that sicko, I don’t need to do this. We’re both the same, Erik! We’re both Warlocks! It’s in our blood and has been for thousands of years!”

  Erik grinned. “A-are you saying…you’re a Warlock?”

  “Of course, I am. What did you expect? We’re the same. Even our powers are similar. You can change your body just as I can, and you have darkness powers just like I have! Lasers, even your own Darkbeast! I’ve seen it all through them.”

  “You mean Gloom?” Erik asked, a part of Gloom popping up from the neck of his shirt to pop a greeting.

  “Yes, that one! Don’t you see! We’re family!”

  This time Erik was the one who laughed. “I know what that man meant when he said you weren’t there yet. You still aren’t, are you? Not like me. Not like Jessie. You missed something. Something important. I can sense it now, in your aura—sure, you’re stronger than me—but you’re disjointed. Separate. You’re weak, and you’ve entirely missed the essence of being a Remnant.”

  John sighed in defeat. “Erik…”

  “No. You’ve got everything wrong. You killed my entire family, and you know what? I’m starting to think I don’t take after my father, after all. That my mother handed this down to me. I’m nothing like you, Uncle John. See, I’m not a Warlock. I’m a Titan. You know, this is kind of liberating. I’ve been trying to blame myself for this situation, but I never really got it to stick. Now I know why. Thanks, Uncle John,” Erik smiled.

  “It’s starting,” Jessie said, Mistilteinn and Caliburn appearing in the air in front of her companions. “The war is back on.”