The Quest For Power

The words that came out of the big man's mouth had taken away all my excitement for a moment. The hours I had waited with excitement were gone for nothing. I hadn't seen my mother once in a long time and hadn't recognized her. Even though I didn't recognize her at all, this feeling still tore me up inside and made my eyes fill with tears.

What could I say? I didn't care about getting caught for that moment. I called out to the man, ignoring Ronk's words. "My mum, is she dead?"

The big man couldn't make sense of the words I said. He realized there was something strange but when Ronk made a sudden intervention to calm me down, the man was very surprised at what he heard.

"Ryuu, calm down," Ronk said.

The big man knew my name but seemed more surprised to hear it. "Ryuu, if not, this boy…"

Ronk wanted to reassure himself by interrupting the man's speech. "Vargon, this is not the place to talk. Please…"

The big man gestured to his house with his head, not wanting to do what Ronk had said and put us in danger. Even if there was no one here, we had to be sensitive to any outside ears. "Get in the house. We'll talk there."

The big man carried the broken door with his hands and closed it in one go. Now there were only three of us for sure. "Ronk, don't you dare tell me that this boy…"

Ronk also took a place to talk while at the same time responding to the big man. "He is. He's Alpha's son and he's your nephew."

"But they told me they were dead."

"We all thought so, but it's not what we thought."

"What do you mean?"

"The boy was in Kaika's care for a long time, Kaika is dead. And now The boy needs the power to defeat Miron and the Epics."

"Is that why you came here?"

"Listen, I know it's a little sudden but you're his uncle."

"If you want it so badly, why don't you train him?"

"It's not enough. He needs to unlock the powers of the dragon bloodline."

"They didn't let me in on their secret so I don't care."

Ronk was trying hard enough for me, but I knew he couldn't convince the guy on his own. So I decided to take my chances with my uncle by taking over the conversation and removing the cloak from my head. "Sir, please. I need your help. I have to learn these powers."

"You really do look like your father, but you shouldn't have come here on Ronk's advice. It's a waste of time."

"I asked him to do it, sir. And if anyone's to blame, it's me. But if you help me…"

Interrupting me, he asked me a question just like Ronk had asked me at the time. "What are you here for, son? Tell me. Do you want to be like your father? Do you want to rebuild the Wolf bloodline? Tell me what is your purpose?"

"I've been asked many times, sir. But I've always said it's out of respect. I want to be like my father but now I'm at a point where I want revenge more than anything else. I want to make them pay for what they've done to me."

"Is that really what you want?"

"That's all I have left. I'll fight them one way or another but I don't want it to be for nothing."

"Ronk has trained you well but what revenge brings may be more bitter than you expect."

My uncle took his hand to his damaged leg, lifted it, and pulled up his trousers. The sight we saw was not pleasant. He had a false leg instead of a leg. He showed us the rest of his leg by opening the protrusions at the end. "This happened two years ago when I was trying to avenge your mother."

Even though I didn't know my mother, I wanted to know more than anything what happened to her. "What happened to her?"

"Two years ago she was killed in an attack by the fourth. Rumor has it that she fought back when the fourth epic attacked the civilians but failed. She was brave just like your father. I was on the island at the time and when I heard the news it was too late. I challenged the fourth epic and attacked with all my might but all I could do was lose my leg. A wise old man of the winged bloodline made me this leg. Even I, once a mighty warrior of the dragon bloodline, have come to terms with it. You should too."

Once again, I had lost someone close to me because of an epic. Now I couldn't stop the anger inside me even if I wanted to but I could use it. No matter what, I had to learn these powers and make them pay for it. I had to show them that I was ready to give everything no matter what. So I begged.

"I beg you, help me to avenge my family and my lineage for the future of the people. Help me take my mother's pain away from them."

"You have never seen anyone like the fourth epic before, son. You are no match for them."

By this time, Ronk had joined the conversation to support me. He told my uncle what I had achieved and what I had done. "They may be strong but the kid's got a point. He's beaten two of the Epics and he's Alpha's son."

"Maybe but I can't lose another one because of the fourth epic. Because of me."

"The boy will fight one way or another. The enemy knows the boy is of wolf blood and knows what he can do. So do the people of all the kingdoms."

"Then hide him."

"Where? Miron's looking for the boy like mad."

"Does he know he's Alpha's son?"

"If he did, we wouldn't be here now. There's nowhere left to hide or run, Vargon. Even if you hide the boy here, sooner or later they'll find him. If you teach him his powers, at least he'll have a chance to fight back."

"You shouldn't have taken the boy out when you were wise."

"I've already lost one child like that. I couldn't lose another like that. It's their choice. They must fight if they want to."

My uncle tilted his head for a short while then raised it again and turned his eyes to me. His gaze was positive but he also had words. "Child, listen to me carefully because I'm only going to tell you once. I'm going to help you unlock your powers but you will do what I say. If you refuse, I will kick you off the island. You will not tell anyone about this island or speak to anyone on the island. Do you understand me clearly?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Then let's get to work."