Even after three days, the corpse of the Guardian was nearly impossible to get close to as it was still burning from the inside, causing the air around it to be as hot as in a kiln. The only sign that it was 'getting better' was that the jet of white fire from its mouth was turning into a multitude of colors, showing signs of cooling. Or so we thought. But it was still like an oversized, magical Bunsen burner. At least we learned after some tests that no CC dust was being produced, which was good. As for the Pass, I was waiting to gather a group to send in and check on it, but there were numerous tasks that had to be completed before that.

So, until we had reorganized the army and accounted for everybody, including the missing Khan... I was back at the temporary base at the river. It was time I finally heard what my son had to say.

I found him sitting on the bank, his boots off, his trousers rolled up, letting the current flow around his leg. His shoulders were hunched forward, in a way I never really saw him do. Whenever he caused some mischief with his siblings as a kid, he was never like this. Even Leyla was worried, as she told me that she had tried to speak to him in their own way, but she couldn't connect. Tsk... Something big happened then.

"You'll catch a fever if you sit in the river this long," I said, getting close to him, speaking so he knew I was coming.

"It's not that cold," He answered, but didn't turn around, "Maybe it'll clean me."

"Yeah, I doubt that." I lowered myself onto the grass beside him with a grunt, "You are my kid, you are born tainted."

"Heh," he finally chuckled, raising his head, glancing at me, "Mom would be mad at you for saying it like this."

"She is not here," I replied, bringing out an apple from my pocket, pressing it into his hand while I took a second one out and bit into it, "Go on. What's the issue? It's not a big deal wetting the bed, you know. Mikan does it every time."

"Ew, Dad! Too much information! Too much!" He groaned, biting onto it, "We don't need to know that!"

"Too bad, I like oversharing. So, what about you do that, too?"

"Haaah..." he sighed, "It started at the pylons. Every time one of the Guardian's beams struck, it rattled through my bones." Well... I kind of knew what he meant, as my own body was tingling with the feeling when we were facing the Guardian, "It was not pain, more like resonance. As if my body was responding to stimuli, Dad, in a similar way, they work."

"With the monsters?" I crossed my arms, scratching my chin, "Resonance with one or with all of them?"

"All of them," He nodded. "That's what I realized later. In the moment, I wasn't sure, but looking back, yeah, my body was adapting to their magical resonance... on its own. Without me prompting it." His hand unconsciously went to his temple, where he rubbed it. "Mikan's blood tattoo helped for a while to keep it at bay, and it kept the influence out. But it wore down quick and..."

"Don't tell me I need to go over the mountains and smack Zah'Ratil in the face because he called you on your private number?" I snorted, already knowing where this was going.

"Yeah... pretty much what happened." His eyes flicked to mine, searching. "You knew?"

"Son, it is pretty obvious. I had an idea from the start, especially after reading the reports about the one, weird, rampaging beast. Let me guess... that was your work? Because your sister also had an idea on a similar vein, only she disrupted them instead of taking control."

"Oh..." He blushed, biting into the apple again, "I... see..."

"What did he want?"

"He told me he wasn't here to hurt me." He continued after a brief pause, "And he said he wanted to help, that he knew a spell, the one the Guardian was using, this puppeteer magic. He told me that they'd fought beasts like this before and then tamed them."

"You mean, they controlled them." I corrected him, "We found that one corpse once, having a human-like thing attached to it. Honestly, son... that 'human' was more like the shipslaves Ishillia uses or used... Not at all human."

"Maybe... I don't know every detail," He answered honestly, "But he told me to stop fighting my blood." Arthur went on, explaining, feeling a bit ashamed, "And it looked really grim, Dad... So..."

"You listened. I get it. Don't worry, kiddo," I reached out, hugging his shoulders, rubbing his head, "I'm not angry, nor am I disappointed. Come on... tell me, what happened?"

"When I did… damn, Dad, I could see it. See everything! Not with my eyes... but I could tell that the threads were everywhere, like a spiderweb over the whole battlefield. Each one was leading back to the Guardian, I could feel them, humming through my bones." By then, his hands moved unconsciously, mimicking the cords of magic in the air, "He said, destroying them was useless, and that I should take them instead. That I could turn the Guardian's puppets against it."

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"So that was it, huh...?" I hummed, "How hard was it?"

"Tough at first but..." He took a sharp breath. "When I reached out, the Guardian slammed into me. But it was raw, I mean, it was simply using its volume, unfocused and barely controlled. I just had to redirect it and take control over it, which was... super easy, when I realized the fact." Arthur closed his eyes then, taking a deep breath, "And then… I was inside." Just by looking at him, it was evident on his face that he was experiencing a wonderful feeling as he relived the memory. "I could see through its eyes," he continued, "I felt its body like it was mine. It moved as I willed it to, attacking what I pointed at and using its strength as I ordered it to. For those moments, I was the monster. And it felt terrific... which is very scary..." He hugged his knees suddenly, lifting his leg out of the river, reopening his eyes, "It was intoxicating... The feeling of power... I really liked it, I think... It felt… natural."

"Everyone likes power, Son... That doesn't make you a monster, because you are showing it right now that you recognize the danger within it. And that you have control over it and not vice versa." I laid a hand on his shoulder while speaking, and he didn't shrug it off, but he didn't look at me either.

"When the connection broke," he said after a long silence, "it was like something… bad. Somewhere... I didn't want to end it..."

"Son... you are not that weak. Don't doubt yourself."

"There is more," He looked up at me, "I know I could do it again. If I met a weaker beast, I could dominate it outright, take it, and make it mine."

"Are you sure?" I whispered, and the way he nodded, I believed him. "And Zah'Ratil?" I asked softly, because this had to be his doing... Or... well, maybe not. But he probably awakened something in my son that was inherent to him. That candy-man bastard is doing his best to cause my son to want and go over to their side! If we ever meet, I will kick him in the dick, full force.

"He said that I was born to do this."

"Fuck him," I drew a sharp breath, "You were born to be you, Arthur. Fuck what that ancient bastard says. You know what? I will let Yuri fuck him when we meet."

"Stop it!" He looked at me, eyes wide and wet a bit, rubbing them, both chuckling and holding back tears of worry and his laugh at the same time.

"I'm dead serious." I snorted, rolling my eyes, "Son. You are you." I tapped his chest with my finger, "Whatever you want to do, it is your decision. Not mine, not your mother's, not some ancient bloodwizard grandpa. Got it? You make the decisions; we all make our own lives into what they are. Everything else, me, that fucker, even Leyla and her ideas, is just signs next to the road, trying to guide you... In the end, it's you who sits in the driving seat."

"I don't know..." He mumbled, "Part of me wanted to... Dad, for a moment, I wanted it so badly. But... what if it was not my desire but the monster's? Or the... monster in me? What if I am like them?"

"Stop." I squeezed his shoulders again, making him look at me, not letting his gaze wander, "You're not."

"How can you know that?"

"Because I raised you?" My voice came out harsher than I meant, so I quickly softened it, "That fear you are telling me about right now is proof you aren't one. So what if you have a slightly unique bloodline than everyone else? You got it from Sasha and me. Not from them. Fuck'em. They abandoned it, no? Isn't that the whole thing that made this mess? So, you are not them, even if they want to claim you as their own. You are my son. Mine, not that Zah'Ratil's. Hmph! Trying to proclaim the glory of making such a fine prodigy!"

"Dad..." He mumbled as he blinked rapidly, trying to hold himself together, so I reached out and brushed his red hair, making a mess out of it like I used to when he was little.

"You are my son first," I looked into his eyes, "Zah'Ratil may call you whatever he wants, but you are my Arthur before anything else. And nothing will change that. So don't worry about what-ifs, and just be you. I got your back."

"Hehe..." He let out a shaky laugh, half relief, half disbelief, hugging me strongly, "You always make it sound so simple..."

"Because it is," I hugged back, "You know what isn't easy? Keeping up with four wives. So be very careful if you follow in your father's footsteps in the future."

"It was a stressful fight, huh?" He chortled, finally back in a jokey mood.

"Yeah, is it that obvious?"

"Duh." He let me go, wiping his eyes, "You are bringing up our mothers, over and over again. Aren't you old already? Can your back handle it?"

"You cheeky little bastard!" I laughed, pinching his cheeks as if he were a little boy again, "Can I handle it? Watch me give you four more little sisters or brothers! Hmph!"

"Are you sure about that?!" He kept laughing, making me stop and consider it.

"No, but fuck consequences. I'm up for it, duh!" I shrugged, laughing with him, "You also need to start thinking about it, or Lancy will get dibs on that accolade."

"I heard." He nodded, tilting his head, "I should visit him."

"Start with Leyla. She is worried herself rotten; if not for her still being sick, she would be here pestering you."

"I know." He nodded again, his mood visibly improving as his eyes filled with proper light once more. "I will go to her first, then to Lancy. After that, I think with Galahad, I will take the Excalibur and a few ground troops and help you find the Khan."

"Are you sure?" I asked, but he just nodded, making me smile. "Good. You do that, and Son..."

"Yes?"

"Never doubt yourself again." I said, standing up and pulling him up, too, "You are my blood. You can make mistakes, you can lose battles... but never doubt yourself. Especially because you are never alone. Even if we are gone in the future, you will have your siblings... and Avalon. Do you understand, Arthur?"

"Yes." He nodded, looking into my eyes, "I do, Dad... But I also know that you will be around for a long time." He smiled happily.

"Of course! It is time for your old man to kick back after this shit is done... Doing nothing and growing a fat belly, watching TV."

"TV?"

"Ah, yes..." I hummed, crossing my arms, "I will need to invent that first..."

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