The trio of Finn, Jaxon and Mira watched as Aiden led his mother and her Majesty, the Queen of Atlan, Queen Elara towards his quarters within the Castle.
Despite the dilapidated state of the castle, Aiden's room was surprisingly, untouched as not even a crack managed to make its mark on the walls.
As soon as he turned a corner, Finn let out a loud exhale. "Is it just me or is something wrong with Aiden?"
"What?" Mira shot him a glance and asked. Her expression curious.
"I don't know, it's just…his energy is off." Finn said as he scratched his head. He couldn't tell what exactly the thing was.
"I share the same thoughts as you for the first time in a long time." Jaxon softly said.
"Hey!" Finn cried out but was ignored by Jason who continued with his deep yet soft voice.
"Did you see what happened when he arrived?" Jaxon asked rhetorically as the thought of the event replayed in his mind. "Even Mira's magic was stripped away. That's not something a human could do...at least, not within the scope of magic."
Mira who was beside them couldn't help rolling her eyes at Jaxon's deduction. "It wasn't that my magic was stripped, but suppressed." She corrected and continued. "I could have fought back against the suppression, but there wasn't a need to when I saw it was Aiden doing it."
"Still, isn't that frightening?" Finn shivered as he tried to imagine going up against Aiden with lightning cladding his entire body only to have it stripped–No, suppressed. "Where does that bastard get his ideas from?" He couldn't help asking, his voice laced with frustration.
Mira chuckled cheekily. "It's just you who are too lazy to think."
"Oi! I'll have you know that I am a master in the lightning armour technique, a high level forbidden skill that many dread to practice." Finn shot back with a disdainful glance at Mira.
"Oh? Pray tell, who made the recommendation for that? I don't know if I am recalling this correctly, but wasn't it... Aiden?"
Finn's eye twitched but he didn't allow his composure to crack so he merely scoffed. "Recommendation is one thing, following through is another but succeeding..? That's the real catch."
Mira was about to make a retort when the Dark Mage she was battling prior to when Aiden appeared and suppressed them groaned in pain. She glanced at him and saw that his eyelids were twitching, a sign he was about to regain consciousness.
Shaking the thought away, she refocused. "Enough of that. Finn, send a message to the Tower about these guys. Jaxon, reinforce their restraints—shackles, mouth guards. Don't let them take any unnecessary actions."
Finn frowned. "And what are you going to do?"
Mira blinked at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean why are you just standing there giving orders?"
Mira gave him a flat look. "Because I'm in charge."
Finn narrowed his eyes. "Since when?"
"Since I'm the strongest after Aiden."
Finn opened his mouth, then closed it. He had no counter for that.
Mira smirked.
Jaxon, having witnessed this exchange far too many times, ignored them both. With a simple motion, he conjured thick stone shackles, binding the cultists in place.
Even their mouths were sealed shut to prevent suicide attempts.
Mira however turned her gaze to the outer castle area and raised a hand, and vines slithered from the ground, wrapping around the Archmages Aiden had defeated before piercing into their navels—painless, but absolute. "That should handle their mana."
Although she was an Archmage too, she couldn't help but marvel at the regeneration ability they boasted as she saw the seven Archmages still alive and breathing, although shallowly, after their experience with Aiden.
As a mage who also majored in healing magic, she knew the human internal organs more than most and could retrace the level of damage of any injury within her limits.
She could tell that from this injuries alone, the like if Jaxon and Finn would be considered lucky to survive, yet...
'It's a good thing we have Aiden.' she thought before double-checking the restraints on the mages.
They had fought Dark Mages enough times to know their tricks. If left unchecked, these cultists would either slit their own throats or overload their mana pools, turning themselves into bombs.
She turned back to Finn. "Now you're the one wasting time."
Finn sighed, sparks flickering around him and with a flash of lightning, he was gone.
...
Elara huffed in irritation, arms crossed as she stared at Aiden. "I cannot believe you were playing around after barely recovering."
Aiden, buried under layers of blankets his mother had wrapped him in, let out a wry chuckle. "Mother, it wasn't like that."
"Oh? Then what was it like?"
"Just a simple training exercise—"
"Training?" Elara's voice rose an octave. "If your sister hadn't informed me, you would've been out there pushing yourself beyond your limits again!"
Aiden wisely held his tongue. His mother's concern was genuine, even if he found it unnecessary.
She let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I swear, this family will drive me insane. Your father buries himself in work, your brothers barely have time to send word, and now you—" She shook her head. "Must you make things harder for me?"
Aiden suppressed a chuckle as his mother continued venting. Her exasperation was amusing, but he understood the depth of her worry.
A brief pang of guilt struck him. He knew what was coming—the Sinking.
His family would be forever bound to the ocean's depths, caught in destiny's unrelenting grip.
At least Damon was far away, safeguarding the other Mother Box.
Speaking of which…
Atlantis still had one.
Aiden needed to get his hands on it.
The Mother Box wasn't something he fully understood yet, but its potential was undeniable. Enhanced strength, technological interfacing, and a wealth of hidden abilities—all things he desired.
But there was also a risk. And he wasn't sure which dangers awaited him.
Elara's sharp gaze pulled him from his thoughts. "Promise me you'll actually rest this time."
Aiden sighed. "Alright, alright. I promise."
She narrowed her eyes. "Do I have your word?"
He nodded, this time more solemnly. "You have my word."
Elara sighed, leaning down to plant a kiss on his forehead. "Just take it easy. Strength is worthless if you push yourself into an early grave."
With that, she stood and left.
As soon as the door closed, Aiden contemplated sneaking out.
…But a promise was a promise.
Clicking his tongue, he shifted deeper into the blankets.
...
Aiden's POV
Ugh. The woes of being the youngest in the family.
I stared at the ceiling, a fond smile playing at my lips. Not that I disliked the attention.
I know what you're thinking—shouldn't a mentally old man like me find this annoying?
Unfortunately, that's not how the soul works.
Through my extensive research into magic, I've come to understand certain things more clearly.
The soul is a record-keeper. It retains memories, identity, and experiences. But emotions? Those are tied to the body and mind of a specific life.
That's why, despite remembering a past life, I don't feel the same love for that old family as I do for this one. Some might argue that I did t love them profoundly enough, but hey...I'm not gonna argue that. My emotions are shaped by my current existence.
And speaking of current existence...
I snapped my fingers, conjuring a status panel I had created out of light magic.
[Status Panel]
Name: Aiden Atlan
Status: Third Prince of Atlantis | Mage of the Magic Tower
Age: 21
Magic: Wind, Fire, Earth, Water, Lightning, Light, Space.
Skills:
Elemental Manipulation (All listed elements)
Elemental Fusion Manipulation
Various Esoteric Skills
(Too many minor spells to list. No way I'm writing out [Clean] or [Levitation] like some beginner.)
Domain Expansion: Spatial Domination
Domain Skill: Force Manipulation(Adaptive Power Evolution. Enhancing his physical strength by reinforcing kinetic force.
Redirecting projectiles by applying a controlled push or pull.
Creating small force barriers or repulsion effects.)
Domain Abilities: (Spatial Manipulation. Force Manipulation. Domain Control. Explanations at the End.)
Still terrifying.
The drawbacks to these abilities however were immense.
First off, I could only use one of those abilities at a time, in the meantime I am also cut off from my other sources of energy like my mana pool. The pause or transition between activating different abilities might create openings for enemies to exploit.
That was something to look into.
The second was the strain it puts on the mind and body. Although I could get healed later on, it wasn't healthy to get injured during every battle, not to mention the mental state.
Instances like spasms, loss of consciousness, and my eyes turning white are examples of consequences if massively strained, possibly leading to long-term physical damage.
But that's not really an issue. It's not like I was planning on spamming the Force Techniques humans...not like there's someone that can force me into that situation, after all, even without the Force, I was already a genius in Mana. Aura and Astral energy.
(A/N: I've been changing between astral and psychic energy too much. I'll stick with astral energy.)
Hmmm. I guess I'll call them Supreme techniques and only train them when the 'Kid' Force does some explanation.
In the meantime. I need some rest. I guess despite the passage of time l, my mind barely had time to rest. Tomorrow I'll go see how dad and the others are doing.
I sighed in amazement of myself once again before closing the panel. I'll refine my skills later. For now… sleep.
...
###
Aiden's Domain Expansion: Spatial Domination gives him absolute control over space and force within its range. His abilities within this domain fall into three main categories: Spatial Manipulation, Force Manipulation, and Domain Control.
1. Spatial Manipulation
Aiden can bend, alter, and redefine space itself.
Distance Compression & Expansion – He can make short distances seem infinite or stretch a step into kilometers.
Instantaneous Teleportation – Within the domain, he can teleport himself and objects freely.
Spatial Folding – Warps attacks, making them miss or appear from unpredictable angles.
Dimensional Severance – Cuts through space itself, creating slashes that bypass durability.
Spatial Lock – Prevents enemies from moving or escaping by freezing their position in space.
2. Force Manipulation
Inside the domain, Aiden's control over forces reaches its peak.
Gravity Override – Can make gravity increase, decrease, or shift directions at will.
Kinetic Freeze – Stops all momentum, making projectiles useless and immobilizing enemies.
Vector Rewriting – Alters movement direction mid-action, forcing attacks to miss or reflect.
Impact Negation – Absorbs and nullifies external forces, making him immune to blunt damage.
Force Constructs – Shapes raw force into weapons, barriers, or crushing pressure fields.
3. Domain Control
Abilities that make Aiden's Spatial Domination more than just a battlefield.
Absolute Territory – His will is law; only those he allows can manipulate space or forces within his domain.
Reality Anchoring – Prevents external space-time distortions from interfering. (Counter to teleportation or spatial attacks.)
Conceptual Locking – Allows him to define "rules" in his domain, like restricting flight or forcing an enemy to feel extreme weight.
Domain Expansion Surge – By concentrating more mana, he can temporarily expand the domain's range.
Spatial Collapse – If Aiden dismisses his domain forcefully, it compresses and implodes, dealing massive damage to everything caught inside.
***
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