Chapter 320: Brotherly Love

"Shut up Kai…  you know you're no brother of mine!" Regrit immediately scoffed in the man's direction. 

Kai, the man Regrit was addressing's eyes grew wide with evident shock on his face. He was clearly taken aback by his response.

"Hey! Stop being so harsh! You're jokes sting! I'm only trying to say your better now! Don't be so mean! We're part of the same family are we not?" He nervously chuckled.

"Both of you calm down! This is no time for such things!" Miss Rayna's voice broke their tension, leading to Regrit scoffing once more and Kai bowing down to apologize with the ball of mana still in his hands. 

"Fatebringer! I see you've also mastered the basic mana discharge! Is this also from the family business?"

"Oh, I'm mostly self-taught but my parents did show me a thing or two…" Kai smiled. 

Moby was slightly confused… How were they brothers when they don't share a family name? 'Fatebringer… Fatebringer…' Moby squeezed his mind trying to remember that family name that felt so familiar… That was when the answer hit him and made him feel rather stupid. 

Of course, it was the family name of one of the noble fire households, one famed for its production of mana and ability crystals.

"But, teacher, that's not all I can do…" With a wide smirk on his face, he switched his basic discharge into a red, then orange, then a yellow with a simple flick of the wrist. 

"WOW! That's really impressive! You're already months ahead of everyone in the class! You truly have some talent with mana control!+300 points! Good job and keep it up! I expected a lot from the Fatebringers but you blew my expectations out of the water!"

"Thank you so much, miss!" He bowed once more, receiving an ugly look from his so-called brother. 

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* 

The sound of the bell ringing filled the room, and just like that every student packed up and rushed out the door for their lunch. 

"Oh! That will be all for today's class! See you after tomorrow! Don't forget to practice when you have time!"

As the students left, Moby wanted to look for Regrit to ask him questions about what was going on. However, before he even knew it, Regrit had already left. 

With a sigh, Moby lifted himself out of his seat and looked towards the door. He was finally going to go to the roof to attempt contacting earth once more.

That was when he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind… One that he sensed yet allowed to happen. 

"Can I help you?" When he turned around, he saw the bright face of that same man… Kai Fatebringer. "What could the son of the esteemed Fatebringer household want with someone like me?"

"Oh! Come on Kane! You don't remember me? I'm really impressed to see you here but to be honest, I shouldn't have expected less…"

"Do I know you? Should I know you?" Moby turned around to face him, making Kai's hand leave his shoulder. 

"Wait, so you really don't remember me!? And you don't remember Regrit either!?"

"Ummm… No? Care to explain to me why I should know you?" Moby raised an eyebrow. 

"Sure! Only if you fight me! It's been a while since we fought! I want a rematch…" The man in front of him's smile turned slightly sinister, with a keener look in his slightly glowing mismatched eyes. 

'Why do they want to fight me so badly??' Moby thought to himself.

"No thanks, I'll take a raincheck on that one. I'm busy right now so maybe later." Moby brushed him off and walked away. 

He was most likely the first son of the esteemed Fatebringer household. He knew nothing about or his powers. For all he knew, he could have been even stronger than Artorias. He was not about to take any risks. 

"Oh come on! For old time's sake! Stop being so cold! I'll pay you in points if you win!"

"That's still a no. I told you I have plans so maybe later!" Moby brushed him off once more, walking out of the classroom like he was not even there, leaving Kai all alone.

"Fine… Be that way… Kane…"

**************************************

Moby opened the doors to the roof and peered up at the now all too familiar sky and barrier surrounding the school. 

"Time to try this again…" He mumbled to himself. "Avilia, what are the chances this actually works?"

"By my estimates, it's really low… You have a chance but I doubt you would get anywhere."

"But I was so close last time!"

"No you weren't…" She softly sighed.

"Then why the hell did I dump so many points in mind if this isn't gonna work!?"

"Come on! You got a lot of cool skills and upgrades! Besides, I didn't say it was impossible… The roof is definitely your best bet…"

"I'll give it a try! This better work!"

Moby sat down and took a meditating position on the roof, using all the vigour he could marshal to push through the communication restrictions. 

But… Despite all of his efforts… He was unable to breakthrough. Even still, he felt like he was getting impeccably close so he hopped on the building behind the roof doors where Artorias previously was just so he could be closer to the outer dome.

When he did, he found that Artorias was thankfully not there. He went back into a cross-legged position as he focused his mind just like before. This time he felt like it was closer yet more distant at the same time… When he felt like he had broken through, he was thrust behind another layer of a mental battle. Sweat rushed down his face as he focused all of the energy he could muster. It was like having an actual battle… It was affecting him both physically and mentally. 

"FUUUUUCCCCKKKK!!" He yelled out in frustration, opening his eyes and laying on his back, sweating and heavily breathing in defeat… 

He blankly stared out at the blackened sky and the barrier above him taking in what just happened… 

He was unable to contact his family at all… He thought he had mentally prepared himself for such an outcome but the feeling that overtook him was worse than he expected. 

He slowly raised his hands and put his palm over his face as he began to slowly chuckle at himself.

The realization that he might have to go for an entire year without hearing a single word from them began to sink in even harder… 

Even still, he was not ready to give up… There was still an entire cityscape for him to explore and more opportunities to attempt a breakthrough on the roof. At least he had told his family that if he did not respond or contact them, then it meant it was impossible or he was having trouble... He just hoped from the deepest depths of his heart that they could survive without him... Especially Abby who was now out of her cage...

'You sound like an overprotective father seeing their children leave the nest, you know that?'

'Uh-' Moby was startled by Avilia's voice in his head... It seemed like she was reading his mind once again.

'Don't worry about them. They're not children, let them have some Independence. It's a good experience for them. This might just be a side effect of your demon nature. Might be good training trying to get over it...'

'Yeah...' He mellowly responded, a flash of the item he found in his parent's box entering his mind...

He took a deep breath and shook his head. When he looked at the time, he noticed it had only been 10 minutes since the start of lunch even though to him, it felt like an eternity. There was much time for him to try again. 

Then, as he was still flat on the ground, a single thought crossed his mind. 

'Why hasn't Regrit been following me today? He's been so quiet…'

It was beginning to bug him… What did he have to do with Regrit and his so called brother? Nothing was making sense…

He closed his eyes and took a deep sigh… And, out of the many voices, he was able to pick up from all the way underneath the school, a faint, nearly undetectable whisper entered his ears.

Immediately, Moby activated his eyes of sin that now boosted all of his senses, amplifying the sound and listened carefully. 

"Hey! Idiot! What the hell was that for in-class huh!? Are you trying to bring shame to our family household!? Showing inner conflict is not a good look!"

"Why don't you stop shouting? It's not a good look for you either… Maybe we're being watched…"

"There's no one within half a kilometre from us other than maybe some people in the building! No one is listening! I'm trying to get this in your thick skull dipshit!"

"..."

"You know what… I'm tired of your bullshit! I'm not gonna just sit silent and take all of your shit with a straight face! You've never treated me like a brother and you never will! And you know why!? Because I'm of lower birth than you and I can still beat your ass with one hand tied behind my back! The only reason you have better mana control is because of those personal trainers that taught you shit day and night!"

"Wh-wa… So… You've been keeping that hidden in you this whole time… I knew you were a rowdy guy but I never imagined this… You're really saying that to my face now!? I'll…"

"You'll what huh!? What are you gonna do now!? Tell your parents about me!? You're not the boss of me anymore! I'm no longer your slave or some shit!? Not for some weak-ass punk like you! Stop acting all fake and nice around me! I'm done with that shit!"