"Happy Birthday!!"
Michael's ears twitched as the hysterical shrieks disguised as birthday wishes reached him. He was not sure what was going on, or if he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, only for realization to strike him hard in the back of the head.
'It's my birthday…'
"Happy Birthday, Michael!" Kaleb exclaimed right before giving Michael a brotherly hug. Michael pressed his lips together and sighed heavily in his mind, "Thank…you…"
He patted Kaleb on the back, hoping that his friend would let go of the death grip. He sincerely hoped that everybody would leave him alone soon. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Everyone walked over to congratulate him personally. It started with Kaelb, Alice, and Maria, and moved to Lincoln, Zeke, Thaor, and the rest. At the end of the queue, the Chieftain, War Priestess, and the professors of the Saphirelake Military Academy gave him their sincere wishes for a life filled with fame and fortune. Michael was not sure if their wishes were sincere, but he could only nod in response. He eyed Killian Zeus, who had had yet to move and smiled wryly. Killian raised an eyebrow but he didn't say anything. There was no need to wish Michael a happy birthday. It was evident that Michael didn't like the special surprise event the others had been planning for the last few days. So, why should he wish Michael a happy birthday, if he could as well observe the torture and pain in Michael's eyes? "Hah. What a…great surprise event this is… Who planned this?" Michael asked, the corner of his lip twitching. Maria and Kaleb raised their hands, "We were worried that we would miss your birthday so we planned it together. We didn't want to miss our friend's birthday. It's your first big anniversary as a Lord, after all!" Michael felt like bashing Kaleb, but seeing the joy in his friend's eyes, he couldn't get himself to say anything. Maria smiled at Michael as well. However, she felt that something was off. She seemed to sense that something about Michael was not quite right, but the atmosphere in the room was great and everyone was smiling – other than Killian. Even Michael seemed happy on the outside. But that was all to it. Michael smiled on the outside, but he didn't feel the same on the inside.
The connection between Maria and the Mark of Fate showed her that there was more to it. That something was wrong.
It was actually pretty simple. Michael didn't like events such as birthdays, New Year's Eve, and other holidays where families gathered to spend time together. Birthdays, however, were especially bad. Hesta disappeared two weeks before his eighth birthday and his parents vanished the day before his birthday as well. They left him and Danny to fend for themselves the day before he turned eight. He spent his birthday crying all day, screaming for his parents to return, but nothing happened. His parents never returned.
Danny tried hard to keep himself and his little brother together, but he was only 12-years-old at that time. He was not supposed to become an adult and raise his little brother. But that was exactly what happened. A heavy responsibility was thrown at Danny from a young age, and it was increasingly difficult for the two youths to take care of themselves. The only advantage they had was that they had a roof on top of them and that they received pocket money. If not for that, their lives would have turned out even worse.
Michael was grateful for having such a great brother, but it was painful to think about him. Danny sacrificed so much all his life to provide for Michael, only to die by sacrificing all he had left. His life.
After the disaster on his 8th birthday, Michael never celebrated his birthday again. Danny tried to show him the magic of certain holidays and give him back some of the youthful experiences he'd lost, but nothing helped. Michael never learned to appreciate his birthday. Sometimes, he even wondered if it would have been better if they had never been born. If their parents could abandon them so easily, why did they even give birth to the brothers? That was something Michael asked himself a lot when he was younger. Right now, he was happy to be alive, but he would have been even happier with Danny by his side. He missed his brother. Terribly.
"Is something wrong, Michael? Do you not like it?" Alice asked, finally noticing that something was not right with Michael. He lifted his head to look at Alice, but it was at this moment when the door to the hallway burst open. Michael used Spirit Eyes instinctively and his eyes widened. He paled, his face turning as white as paper, and his hands began to tremble violently.
Alice and everyone else turned around, their battle instincts erupting at once. Dozens of Artifacts manifested simultaneously and various Soultraits were unleashed in the blink of an eye, all pointed at a youthful woman who looked like she was in her late 20s.
The woman had a fairly pale complexion. Her skin seemed as white as a sheet of paper at the first glance, but it was only the stark contrast between her pale skin and long, wavy hair that created the illusion of her white, porcelain skin. A pair of dark, almost black eyes traveled through the room for a mere second before the woman furrowed her eyes at the sight of a bunch of balloons that formed the words 'Happy Birthday'.
"Who the hell are you and how did you trespass the city security?!" A young Descendant standing near Killian asked, his voice quivering. The presence the young woman exuded naturally was powerful and eerie.
The Descendant couldn't hide his anxiety, but he didn't want to look weak in front of the others. Therefore, he released a bolt of compressed energy at the young woman without waiting for an answer. There was no second warning. The trembling Descendant attacked the woman. It was better to ask questions later, probably.
The others didn't attack. They increased their guard against the unknown woman and readied themselves for a fight with their lives on the line. That was not exaggerated as even the Chieftain and the War Priestess had great difficulties remaining calm and composed facing the unknown woman's tremendous pressure. She was far from weak. Maybe…she was even stronger than the Leaders of the Tritan Alliance.
The unknown woman lifted a single finger to block the Descendant's energy bolt. That was all the attention the Descendant received from her. She diverted her focus, her eerily dark eyes traveling to the small compass she held in her left hand. Her gaze followed the arrow slowly, and her eyes narrowed on Michael.
The unknown woman scanned Michael's body from head to toe until she looked him straight into the eyes. Micheal was gritting his teeth, his hands clenched into fists so hard that his fingernails cut deep into his palms. Warm blood trickled to the ground, while the shock and disbelief that reverberated through Michael's entire being slowly transformed into anger and hatred.
The woman raised one eyebrow and released a burst of energy to amplify her natural presence. Thaor, Lokai, Mekhaz and the other Awakened lost control of their bodies and crashed to the ground. Kaleb, and Maria groaned, their legs trembling like thin branches amid a thunderstorm. Even Killian was having problems retaining control of his body. He had to circulate origin energy through his body and merge it with a portion of his thunder attribute to stay on his feet while facing the unknown woman.
On the other hand, Michael continued to stare at the unknown woman. His body reacted subconsciously to the increased pressure by inserting several layers of Enhancement into his body. "Interesting," The unknown woman mumbled, her sonorous voice resounding through the room.
She didn't sound threatening in the slightest, but nobody dared to lower their guard. Everyone could tell clearly that a single mistake was all it took to die at the hands of the unknown woman.
At last, the woman took her first step into the room.
The moment she took her first step into the room, everyone made their move. The War Priestess, the Chieftain, and the other powerhouses appeared around the unknown woman in an instant, circling her. They didn't know what the woman was planning to do, but everyone could sense that she was dangerous. She didn't belong to the group of human powerhouses who'd come to the ancient city, and nobody realized her. That could merely mean she was part of a dark organization, or, in the worst case, the Supreme Human Alliance. One way or another, the unknown woman didn't belong to this place. She had to be apprehended before she could harm the younger generation.
An enormous amount of energy erupted from the powerhouses, causing the walls and ground around them to crackle. They were ready to kill the unknown woman before anything worse might happen.
"That's not nice," The woman clicked her tongue reproachfully and raised her right arm where eerily dark marks manifested. The pressure in the room intensified also further, forcing Killian to the ground. Darkness oozed out of the eerie marks that traveled along the woman's right arm, alarming the powerhouses that were about to strike her.
However, it was just a moment later that the darkness oozing out of the woman's arm disappeared. All Michael could see was that she consumed the darkness oozing out of her arm to activate something, probably her Soultrait. His vision suddenly grew hazy. He couldn't properly see what was going on inside the woman. All he might tell was that she did anything and that her move restrained the powerhouses around her. Even the Chieftain and War Priestess lost his/her ability to move. They couldn't control their bodies anymore!
6th Tier? No. The way the woman restrained everyone's movement while several Tier-6 Lords were present indicated that she was stronger. 'A Divine Lifeform?' Everyone wondered, but Michael didn't care. He might merely stare blankly at the woman in front of him.
He never realized that she was this strong…that his mother was this powerful.
