Seed of the Sovereign

A few hours ago.

Above the mountain peaks at the western parts of the ... Continent, the nocturnal birds of Latiara were scared away by a silhouette, a blue light that emitted deathly chill flying past them.

Even with their dynamic vision, they failed to fully capture the silhouette before it was gone before their eyes.

The silhouette crossed vast distances in the blink of an eye, moving so fast that major landmarks zoomed past it.

Finally, the silhouette came to a stop above the Phlego mountain fortress, revealing itself to be Leon.

'Please, let it not be too late,' he thought as he speedily rushed into the fortress like his life depended on it.

But once inside, his hopes were dashed. The once mighty Phlego clan was turned into a waste. All around, dead bodies lay; from the weakest children to the adults and even the elderly. Not a single person was spared; the assailants made sure of that.

The brutality of the assailants could be seen in how they ruthlessly and painfully killed the members of the Phlego clan, and Leon even spotted signs of torture on some of the bodies.

Leon watched all this from the outer courtyard, his face already cold with rage.

Still, he buried that rage. Holding it locked up.

He couldn't conclude yet.

He dashed past the outer courtyard, rushing into the inner sanctum but on entry into the inner sanctum, his last hopes were dashed.

He saw the corpses and remains of the core members of the family and the main branch.

"No no no no..." Leon muttered as he rushed to the patriarch's house sonic booms ringing behind him. He frantically searched the house while calling out for Dio and Leona or their children. He was so anxious that he forgot that such a simple search would be done quicker with a magic scan.

In the end he turned the house upside down searching for them before he found the corpse of Luke hidden under the rubble of the still burning house.

"Luke... Luke.." his voice broke as he cleared the rubble from Luke's body.

In his grief, he didn't notice that though the rubble on Luke's body was burning hot, there was not a single scald on his skin. the flame licked his flesh like he was part of them but didn't hurt him.

It wasn't until Leon made to lift Luke's body that he noticed it was freezing cold. Cold enough for him to flinch.

It had to be known that though he liked to remain hidden, he was a powerhouse on the level of Dio and Leona and like Leona he also specialised in Ice laws.

For Luke's temperature to actually make him flinch, only one thing came to mind. Their family bloodline, the bloodline of the Coldhearts. Luke somehow had it and it had started it's awakening.

Leon forced himself not to think of it's implications, his mind focused on what it meant for Luke.

There was hope.

At this point, after he calmed down, he noticed how Luke's body was unburnt.

'impossible', he thought. A possibility came to mind but he immediately threw it away, it wasn't possible.

He dropped Luke's body away from the flame and faded to the background.

By now he already knew that he wasn't dead.

A dead man wouldn't have his bloodline awaken. He also knew that his bloodline would heal him from whatever kept him unconscious soon.

Their bloodline had both ice and healing properties and when bloodlines first started awakening they used the remnant energy in the blood to fuel their full use. That was why it was so cold, and why he knew that ultimately Luke would be healed as well..

But now, knowing that Luke was safe and wouldn't be dying anytime soon, he was afraid of facing him. .

He felt guilty.

Guilty that he couldn't do anything despite all his power. Guilty that he was too late to offer any help or save anyone.

Now, apart from his nephew who almost died, he had no idea about what happened to the rest of his sister's family.

He was too ashamed to face him.

So he watched from the background.

He watched flabbergasted as the change happened to Luke's hair before it returned to normal, lending more credit to his thoughts.

He watched as Luke finally woke up.

He watched, his heart aching with pain and grief as Luke walked around the Phlego clan lifelessly.

He watched Luke cry his heart away, wishing to comfort him but too ashamed to do so.

He watched Luke enter the Phlego clan's ancestral vault.

He was tense when Luke entered the vault because he couldn't watch him, since important places like this had advanced measures to counter scrying. Still, he knew that he wouldn't get hurt in his own ancestral vault.

He was scared when Luke came out of the hall, his body a mess but Luke didn't even notice it. He had to stealthily heal him as he moved. Even then, he still watched.

He watched Luke enter the forest and fight the beasts.

He watched with admiration as Luke fought the Rafulg, a beast that was far stronger and more experienced than him, yet he almost bested it with his wits.

He watched with a tense heart, ready to interfere as the beast almost killed Luke.

He watched with shock as the stick he had noticed Luke carrying since he left the ancestral hall turned into a mighty golden spear that sent a chill down his spine, impaling the beast.

He watched with feelings of pride and bitterness as Luke collapsed from exhaustion after defeating the rafulg.

Pride because of his nephew's achievements.

Bitterness because he'd finally have to face him.

Luke might not have noticed but how could the wolves stalking the fighting pair escape Leon's detection?

He had just kept them in sight, unwilling to interfere. But now, Luke had no chance against a pack of Awakened wolves and not when he couldn't even move a muscle from exhaustion.

He could kill them, but Luke was still exhausted and unable to move so there was no point in that.

So he finally showed himself to his nephew.

And the look of unfamiliarity in his eyes hurt Leon more that a thousand pins piercing his heart.

Watching Luke sleeping soundly on his back, he sighed with shame.

"I really am sorry, nephew. I hope you can one day forgive me."