"Surprised."

  Was one of the words Ray thought of after hearing Roki words. He would have never imagined any of this to be the case. His mother was always a secretive person, and his father for that matter from a young age.

  When Ray got older he always thought it didn't make sense for both of them to settle down in a no name village with their skills. His dad was a strong warrior and his mother one of the best fire mages he had seen. With their skills, they could have made a decent coin anywhere.

  Still, just because his mother had obtained the pendent, didn't mean she was the previous leader. She could have got it off someone else and given it to Ray as a gift.

  "Roki, were you alive while the previous leader was still present, do you have any idea what she looked like or their personality?" Ray asked.

  "Yes, I was still around, as you can tell I'm quite old. The previous leader was a black haired woman, she was a gentle kind soul with an upbeat personality. It was perhaps because of this she chose to run away with the key."

  Ray didn't want to believe it but the person described sounded exactly like his mother. He thought this all might have been some trick or story made up by the empire, but not many knew what Ray's mother looked like. Judging by his hair, they would have also assumed his mother had the same danger red hair as well.

  Ray lifted his hand and started to touch the pendent, which was long and light blue in colour, he twisted it while in the middle of his thoughts.

  He had something the empire wanted and they didn't know about it. It was a favourable position to be in.

  "Ray, don't reveal yourself or that jewel. Ever since they have had Sera on their side, slowly the emperor's confidence has grown. If he knew you had the key, he would definitely attack to try to find it. Also, even though you have the key, we have no clue where the item is.

  "Myself and the other four parties that are against the current emperor have been looking for it, but have been unable to find it. When we do, then we can play our cards, use this as a reason to turn the tides and elect a new emperor. Ray, you could become the emperor!" Roki said excitedly.

  "Calm down." Ray replied. "That isn't my wish, at least not right now. All I want is the empire off my back, that is why we came to the all kingdom tournament."

  With Ray thinking about it more, if he had the whole of the Empire's army, surely it would have helped him with his war against the shadow coming up, but it was all too soon. It would be a risk, trying to search for this weapon, instead of increasing his current forces.

  Then even if he became an emperor, he would have to deal with traitors, setting everyone straight and more. It could prove to be even worse than he was imagining. He needed to deal with things one problem at a time.

  "This God, Sera, you said you saw him do strange things, do you know what his powers are?" Ray asked.

  Bliss, the divine being, was strong in magic and had great knowledge in magic research, but that was due to how much time she had spent on the continent choosing to study those things. As an actual god, her power was foresight. To be able to see the future.

  Even with Ray's 1000 dragon abilities, he was unable to see the future. No matter how much more powerful in magic he was than her.

  Van, the prince had absolute control over mana. So much so that he could make a simple beast explode from the inside out. Another thing Ray was unable to do. He was only able to use mana from inside his body, or that he stole from nature and other living beings.

  And if Ray's guess was right, the Shadow was a god that had the ability to spread its own power into any beast or person, infecting them like a virus. Like some mastermind controller.

  But what was Sera's power?

  "That man is simply unstoppable with any weapon in his hand. Even if he has never seen a weapon before when he touches it, it's as if he instantly has become a master of it. No explanation, no training needed." Roki replied.

  "A god of weapons?" Ray asked.

  "Perhaps, but I would more accurately describe him as a god of war. His skills excel most when on a war field. He knows how to command an army perfectly, and they seem to get a strange increase in power. On top of this, the more blood that gets spilt the wilder that man gets.

  "You can see it in his eyes, he starts to lose his mind more and more as blood is spilt. It's as if his power thrives on war happening all over the place. This is why I'm worried, soon I fear he will not be able to contain himself, and I start to think who is really the emperor at the moment."

  "Sera, Ares, huh?" Ray thought.

  With the conversation over between the two of them, it left Ray with a lot to think about, but ultimately his original plan didn't change. He had just learnt more about the empire. In terms of what to do, honestly he wanted to ask his mother in this situation, but there was no way for him to contact her.

  Thinking about this, to make sure what Roki was saying was true, Ray decided to offer him a contract. At first Roki was surprised, he thought Ray was a simple warrior and the magic before his eyes he had never seen before.

  Still, he didn't hesitate to accept the contract, which surprised Ray. It seemed like Roki really was loyal to his party and was dead certain that the previous leader was Ray's mother.

  After showing Roki how to use the system, they both split ways, and Roki promised he would update him whenever he could.

  "Roki, if we meet in the arena, I want you to use your full strength." Ray said. He wanted to make sure Roki wouldn't forfeit or pull out of the fight just because their relationship as rivals had suddenly changed.

  'Of course I will help you grow, and if I leave this place or return, I will teach you how to use a sword. Your skills are quite sloppy." Roki said with a cheeky grin.

  After Ray had called everyone back into the room, he decided to tell them everything. Down to the last detail, including the part about Sera being a god. They already knew about the Divine Being, so it wasn't so much of a far fetched idea.

  They seemed to be more stunned than him after hearing everything.

  "Ray, are you some kind of main character in a novel or something?" Kyle asked. "How the hell do so many things happen to you, why you?"

  "Well, he is the child in the prophecy." Martha replied. "That's why you were selected in that special group at Avrion as well. Thank us all that you weren't the chosen one otherwise we would have all been doomed."

  The group chuckled at the words, but all of this was happening because Ray at one point was a powerful being, and now as a human he was as well. Power pulled in the era, and he had it, but he didn't have it all yet.

  With everything discussed, they all decided to get a good night's rest. They would continue through the tournament until the end, and then leave hopefully with no harm being done. Ray at least wanted to see the full extent of Sera's power. He wondered if the Empire or the Shadow was a bigger threat, and which to prioritise, or which was to attack them first.

  That night as each of them slept, Sylvia, who was sharing a room with Martha was covered in sweat. She was twisting and turning and murmuring a few indecipherable words. It was the first time something like this had happened.

  Then, she placed her hand over her eyepatch, as a slight pain was felt.

  'Is it the shadow, is it starting to infect me now? Am I really going to become infected, but I was fine before. Brother also said that none of the others had turned into a true infected.'

  Then, a voice was heard in her head.

  "I'm…coming…."

  The pain suddenly stopped, and the voice along with it.

  'I'm coming… What was that, and who…' Sylvia couldn't help but think that maybe this all kingdom tournament event wouldn't go as they all planned, not just for the Redwings, but the Empire as well.

  *****

  For MDS updates and artwork you can follow on instagram and Facebook:jksmanga

  If you would like to support the idea of a manga being created you can on P.A.T.R.E.O.N: jksmanga