"WHAT ARE you talking about, child? I don’t sense anything..."
When his father trailed off, that was when Winter realized that his father had already sensed the enemies.
And so did Julian.
"Calm down, children," Kalel Moonchester said calmly. "Nothing will happen to you as long as I’m here."
"I know, Father," Julian said, and then he gently patted Winter’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, Winter. Father won’t let us get hurt."
Of course, Winter knew that.
Hence, he confidently nodded his head.
However, the nagging feeling in his chest didn’t disappear.
I feel like something bad is about to happen.
And he was right.
Because as soon as the carriage stopped...
Argh!
"Child!"
"Winter!"
Both his father and older brother screamed his name, and then tried to grab him.
But the two failed.
An invisible forced grabbed Winter by the neck and pulled him out of the carriage by force— breaking the door in the process.
That hurts!
But the invisible forced continued dragging him deep into the forest.
So, now, he had cuts all over his body from the plants, trees, and whatever it was that he kept bumping into while being dragged away.
I’m gonna die at this rate!
Winter remained calm, though.
After all, he could feel Kalel Moonchester and Julian running after him.
They’re getting closer.
The bad news was Winter didn’t know how long he would last since he was starting to have difficulties breathing.
I need to fight back!
But the body he was using was powerless.
He was starting to lose hope when he heard the deity’s voice in his head.
"Child, you must not die here."
As soon as Winter heard that voice, he felt his body heat up.
And then it went cold.
Oh.
My powers are back.
Winter immediately grabbed the invisible ’hands’ around his neck.
Yes, he could touch it now.
Earlier, he felt like he was grabbing air.
But, now, he could physically touch the ’invisible force’ that was trying to kill him. And he had already figured out why he couldn’t do it earlier.
This thing is a lump of Mana, so my powerless vessel can’t touch it before.
But not anymore.
After Winter grabbed the ’hands’ around his neck, and then he froze them with his ice.
I can control ice better than flame, after all.
And it worked.
Winter rolled to the ground when he fell, but he immediately took control of his body.
After rolling a few times, he slowed down and got up before hitting a huge tree.
But he wasn’t safe yet because he could still sense the bloodlust directed at him.
When Winter raised his head, he saw a huge ’ring of ice’ in the sky.
The invisible force that dragged him there was no longer invisible after he froze it. After all, it became a long block of ice floating in the air.
That thing is shaped like a snake?
Winter getting distracted because of the ’ice snake’ in the sky caused him a lot.
He only noticed that he was attacked when he was hit by something sharp on the side of his neck.
Ouch!
He wasn’t sure if he was poisoned, but his body instantly heated up as if he were getting burned alive. Maybe if he weren’t a fire user, he would have been burnt to a crisp already.
Mommy, thank you for the ’fire genes’ you passed down to me.
But even though he could control the temperature of his body, he couldn’t stop his scales from coming out.
Yes, scales quickly covered his arms and hands.
He could feel the scales covering his cheeks, too.
It seemed like he was slowly turning into his snake form.
What is happening to me?
"Winter!"
It was his father.
But instead of looking at the direction where Kalel Moonchester’s had come from, Winter looked up when he sensed an impending danger coming his way.
That was when he saw the ’ice snake’ charging at him.
Damn snake.
Winter raised his hand, hundreds of fireballs coming out of his hand— instantly setting the ’ice snake’ on fire.
The ’ice snake’ let out a hiss as it was burned to ashes.
Haaah.
"You can control both fire and ice?"
Oh.
Winter just realized that he exposed his own power to his father after seeing the shocked look in Kalel Moonchester’s eyes.
Julian was standing behind their father with the same expression.
Ah, darn it.
I knew I wasn’t fit to be an undercover agent.
"Winter, your eyes... and your scales..." Julian said in disbelief. "Are you a snake?"
Oh, right.
How could Winter forget his scales?
And, I guess my eyes have turned into snake eyes, too.
"Your face has changed," Kalel Moonchester said in a mixed of awe and disbelief while walking towards Winter. "You look like me..."
Right.
People have always said that I look like Daddy.
"But I also see her in you."
Kalel Moonchester could only be talking about Winter’s mother.
"You said you can see the future. But is it possible that you actually came from the future, child?" Kalel Moonchester asked urgently, as if he could no longer wait to hear the truth. "Are you my son with her?"
Oh.
I guess I can’t no longer lie.
Winter smiled nervously. "I’m here to save you, Daddy."
Kalel Moonchester almost smiled.
Almost.
But his father’s smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and the joy on his face was suddenly replaced by horror.
"Winter!"
Hmm?
Winter belatedly realized that he had fallen on what seemed like a portal that appeared below his feet.
Oh, I was kidnapped.
***
"ARE YOU AWAKE, child?"
When Winter opened his eyes, he was greeted by the person he didn’t want to see.
Aku Moonchester.
No, it’s Auro Moonchester in this era.
He tried to get up, but then he realized he was chained.
Ah, I’m locked up in what seems like an underground prison.
Moreover, the chains used to restrain him weren’t ordinary chains, of course.
Argh.
Winter felt his strength leaving his body the more he resisted.
I see. These chains are designed to absorb Mana. So, it’s not a stretch to think that these chains were specifically made to restrain powerful people.
"I knew you were strange, but I didn’t expect that your real appearance would shock me."
Winter raised his head and shot Auro Moonchester a cold look.
Of course, this coward is my kidnapper.
"Who are you?" Auro Moonchester asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you look like my brother and my late sister-in-law, child?"
***
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