Chapter 39: Uncle.
Aiden saw his mother kneeling on the ground. Standing before her was a man with the same silver-white hair as hers, tall and broad-shouldered, easily six feet in height. He looked regal, his robe embroidered with jewels that shimmered faintly, making him appear like a prince carved from moonlight.
In his left hand, he held Aiden by the throat. Beneath his right foot lay Jonathan, pinned down, struggling to move as the man pressed him into the ground without mercy.
Aiden's expression was filled with pain. His hands clawed weakly at the man's arm, but the grip on his neck was fully tight. He could feel his mother's terror more than his own.
Sara's trembling voice echoed as she desperately said. "Brother... please, let Aiden go! We will go with you! We'll give you that item — please just spare him! He's your nephew!"
The man turned his head slightly, his grey eyes cold and devoid of any trace of emotion. His words came slowly, calmly, and cruelly.
"My dear sister," he said, "you should not have run away with this peasant trash."
His voice was smooth, almost gentle — but each word was filled with cruelty and arrogance.
"I know he was your guard," he continued. "I also know that he saved you many times. But to flee your arranged marriage... to marry a peasant... to stain our bloodlines and family name..."
He pressed harder on Jonathan's chest, forcing a groan of pain from him.
"And worse yet," he added, "you took the family artifact that mother and father gave you before their death. You also gave birth to this half-peasant child." He glanced down at Aiden with disgust, his lips curling faintly.
"I will take you back," he said, his tone absolute, "and I will kill these two to cleanse our name. I'll erase this embarrassment from your life."
Aiden's vision blurred as the man's grip tightened around his throat. Then, without warning, the man's right hand began to glow — arcs of lightning dancing across his palm.
"No—!" Sara screamed, but she couldn't stop him.
The man's hand pierced through Aiden's left side, emerging through his back in a spray of light and blood. Aiden gasped, his voice caught between shock and agony.
When the man withdrew his hand, he held something pulsing in his palm — Aiden's heart. It glowed faintly blue, the light dimming with every beat.
The man saw the heart's color as he said with a surprised tone, " You are a stage 2 mana cultivator at your age. You really do have some of our blood in you."
Sara's scream tore through the air. " No! Stop! Stop it! Put it back in! I can heal him! Please! Please, brother! Spare him!"
But her cries were useless.
The man looked at her, his expression unchanged. Then, slowly and deliberately, he closed his fist. Aiden's heart burst in his hand — a splash of blood and shattered mana scattering into the air like fireflies.
Sara's body shook violently as she screamed again, "No! No! Why are you doing this?! Why, brother? Why him?!"
The man did not answer.
He looked down at Jonathan, still struggling beneath his foot. With a single motion, he pressed harder. Jonathan's skull began to crack.
Sara's eyes widened in horror. "Stop!"
But the word came too late. With a sickening crunch, Jonathan's head burst beneath the pressure. Blood and brain matter splattered across the ground — warm drops landing on Sara's face.
She froze for a moment, then broke. Her voice shattered into raw grief."No... why?! I'll kill you! Why... why?!"
Her body trembled as she screamed, her hands shaking as she reached out toward her husband's headless body, clutching him close. Her tears mixed with the blood that stained her cheeks, falling silently onto the cold floor.
The man remained still — motionless, expressionless."Let's go," he said softly. "The family elders are waiting."
But his words fell on deaf ears. Sara's mind was lost in complete sorrow.
She knelt, holding Jonathan's broken body in one arm and Aiden's lifeless body in the other. Her breathing became ragged with every passing moment. Her screams were no longer words, only pain turned sound.
Aiden — the real Aiden, who had formed the connection — watched it all unfold through the link. His breath was caught in his throat as he witnessed everything. His heart trembled violently in his chest as his hands shook.
He could feel his mother's despair, her grief, her unbearable loss. It clawed at him like an invisible force. He felt sorrow.
Even though he knew this was an illusion, the pain was real — too real. Tears welled in his eyes as he whispered, "Mom..."
His mind was filled with emotions, a storm of anger and sorrow flooding his thoughts. He felt hatred rise within him for the man who had done this — the one his mother called brother.
He's my uncle...My mother's brother...But why...? Why would he do this?
Rage burned through him, fierce and consuming, but it was quickly swallowed by grief. He couldn't bear to watch his mother suffer like this.
Then, amid the storm of emotions, his mind cleared. He took a shaky breath and whispered softly, "Mom... wake up... please... wake up..."
He concentrated his mana, sending his thoughts through the connection.'Mom, this isn't real. This is an illusion. It's all created by the family artifact.'
His focus sharpened. He kept pushing the thought into her mind again and again.
The world within her consciousness began to tremble. The image of the white-haired man flickered like a candle about to die.
Sara's cries faltered. Her body began to glow faintly as Aiden's will seeped through her mind.
The man's figure vanished completely, dissolving into nothing. The broken bodies of Jonathan and Aiden faded away like mist in the sun.
Sara blinked rapidly as she came back to herself. Her voice shook as she whispered, "This... this is an illusion. It's not real..."
And then — the link shattered.
Aiden gasped as his consciousness was pushed back to his own body. His vision blurred for a moment, then cleared.
Before him, Sara stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open slowly, revealing eyes clouded with exhaustion and disbelief.
Her legs gave up the moment she tried to move. Aiden moved quickly, catching her hand and helping her regain balance.
"Mom," he said softly, "easy..."
Sara looked at him, still dazed as she said. "Aiden... why are you here? Didn't we tell you not to come here, no matter what?"
Aiden met her gaze, his expression firm as he replied. "Mom, I've already talked to Dad about it. Let's discuss this later — after we seal the artifact."
At the mention of Jonathan, Sara's eyes widened slightly as she asked."Where is your father?"
Aiden replied, "He's sealing the artifact right now. He's alone — we need to hurry."
Sara turned abruptly toward the far side of the chamber. Her eyes locked onto Jonathan, who was engaged in a fierce struggle. Black veins lashed toward him from the walls, twisting and hissing like living things.
Jonathan was conjuring spells with both hands — fire and water intertwining as he tried to hold the attack back.
Sara's expression hardened. She used a healing spell under her breath, the faint glow wrapping around her arms as her strength returned.
Then she vanished, her voice echoing, "Don't move, Aiden, just stay here."
In the blink of an eye, she appeared beside Jonathan. Her hand touched his shoulder, a pulse of healing light flowing through him.
Jonathan steadied himself, nodding once before turning back to the battle. Together, they fought — Jonathan moved in front as he used offensive spells while Sara supported him from the back.
Their coordination was flawless. Every time Jonathan attacked, Sara followed up with a defensive spell or healing light. They moved in perfect sync, their mana blending seamlessly.
Aiden watched from a distance, his chest as he was filled with awe. " So this... this is their true strength," he whispered. "When they fight together... they're even more stronger."
The pride in his voice trembled slightly with fear.
But then, everything changed.
As Jonathan and Sara advanced closer to the black heart, one of the larger veins suddenly pulsed and conjured black fire. The flame roared forward, dark and unnatural.
Jonathan's eyes widened as he summoned a wall of fire to block it. But when the two flames met, his own was devoured instantly.
"What—?!" He barely had time to react before the attack was upon them.
Sara grabbed his arm and teleported them to the side. The black fire struck the ground behind them, spreading rapidly — devouring everything it touched.
Jonathan's eyes darkened as he asked. " What kind of fire is this...?"
Sara's tone was grim. " It's something we've never seen before."
Jonathan nodded sharply. "We'll analyze it later. For now, we shall seal that thing."
They rushed forward again, but the next moment, a vein surged from the wall and unleashed a stream of black water. They dodged as the attack landed on the ground. The moment this liquid hit the ground, the stone hissed — melting away like ice under acid.
Jonathan and Sara dodged again, but more attacks followed. The veins began conjuring all ten elements — fire, water, wind, earth, lightning — yet each was twisted, corrupted, far stronger and more toxic than normal spells.
Still, Jonathan and Sara pressed forward, their movements desperate but determined. Until suddenly — their bodies slowed.
Their limbs stiffened, their mana faltered, and their expressions turned strained. Their thoughts became sluggish, their eyes became unfocused.
Sara suddenly realized what was happening. Sara's voice came weakly, her words dragging painfully as she said. " A...i...d...e...n r...u...n..."
Aiden's heart tightened. He realized it instantly — the heart was trying to turn them into puppets.
His mind raced, then a thought came to his mind. Why hasn't it attacked me once? Even when I helped them escape the illusion... it didn't touch me. Why?
He activated lightning mana, forcing his thoughts to speed up. Then, with sudden clarity, he whispered, "It doesn't attack me. It wants me alive..."
He steeled his resolve as he took a deep breath and vanished, using Blitz.
In an instant, he appeared beside his parents. Jonathan and Sara's eyes widened slightly, their gaze filled with panic. They wanted to scream for him to run — but they couldn't.
Aiden didn't hesitate. He conjured thought parasites in both hands and injected them into their bodies.
Then he conjured puppet strings, weaving thin silver threads from his mana and injecting them into his parents as well.
The veins didn't react. They didn't attack.
Aiden exhaled shakily — as he felt relieved. He maintained his focus, connecting his mind to theirs through the parasites.
Their thoughts were slow, trapped, but still there. He began transferring his will into them, feeding his clarity into their minds.
As their thoughts accelerated, Aiden withdrew his influence, replacing control with guidance. Then, carefully, he guided his puppet strings through their bodies — weaving them through mana veins as the mana string of the black heart resisted him violently.
The corrupted energy of the heart fought back, but Aiden kept pushing. His teeth clenched, his body trembling with effort, but he didn't stop. But after a few moments, the strings gave in as if they didn't want to resist Aiden
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he succeeded. His strings passed fully through their bodies.
He didn't take control — he released the connection instead, severing the heart's hold. Then he retracted every thread of mana from them.
Sara and Jonathan gasped, their bodies relaxing as control returned to them.
They turned to Aiden, both of them wide-eyed with disbelief.
In that instant, one thought flashed through their minds —Why didn't the heart attack him? And how... how could a stage two cultivator break free from something even a stage four couldn't resist?
Author's Note:
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