章節 4: Who You Are Pt.2

'Aii, who am I kidding. He knows that something is out of the ordinary anyways. I only wished that I didn't have to tell him so soon.'

Seeing that his father was having a hard time mulling over something, Lu Fuji said, " Dad, if you are having a hard time with something, we can wait till later."

After hearing his son, his resolved became firm, it was time.

"No, this can't be pushed back anymore. Fuji, you must understand that what you are about to hear must never leave the room. I am telling you this now because I know that you will not be impulsive and that you are more than intelligent than enough to access the situation.

6 years ago, on that unfortunate day, our family lost your mother. But what was known to you as her death, was actually just all a cover up. Your mother is still very well alive, at least we know that she has not been killed yet."

"What! How..."

"Let me finish."

As if his second chance at life and the mysteries of his Uncle Wang wasn't enough to cause him distress, the very thing that had been weighing down on his mind for years, had now turned into more than just a loss. What was this? Some sick story? If so, I would do anything to bring my mom back...

"As you know, our world views gamers higher than anything. Even if you had the prettiest face or the best looks, That is only secondary to your gaming skills. Of course, nowadays, plastic surgery has come a long way. So, if you have the skills to game, anything is possible. But that is not what is important. Before I continue, what do you know about gamers?"

Still trying to digest what he had heard, his father's question woke him from his deep thought. "Besides the fact that gamers are at the top of the food chain and that they are respected by all. I know that with gamers, there is something related to them called Stellar. I believe that gamers should be under contract with one of the four titans. The four are: Ignatius, Lamia, Yggdrasil, and Zephyr."

"Not bad, but that is of course what is only told to the public. Stellar, is in fact kind of like a motherboard, it is the heart of it all. In this case, Stellar is really the government. They monitor and train talents from the four titans. In essence, the four titans themselves are in a sense, a part of Stellar. Though their names aren't without meaning. Of the four titans, each are named because of their respective element and signs. Ignatius, belongs to fire. Like all other titans, its core is made up of true gamers, called Gate Keepers. Under Ignatius are three clans: the Zhu Clan in charge of Aries, the Chu clan in charge of Leo, and the Ma clan in charge of Sagittarius.

Lamia, belongs to water. It is made up of the Shen clan in charge of Scorpio, the Wong clan in charge of Cancer, and the Jiang clan in charge of Pisces.

Yggdrasil, belongs to earth. It is made up of the Li clan in charge of Taurus, the Lin clan in charge of Virgo, and the Ye clan in charge of Capricorn.

Lastly, Zephyr, belonging to air. It is made up of the Xiao clan in charge of Gemini, the Fan clan in charge of Libra, and the Liao clan in charge of Aquarius.

Our family belongs to one of the four titans, Yggdrasil. We are part of the Li Clan, charged with the task of being the keepers to the gate of the Taurus. You may be wondering what gatekeepers are. Well, besides from the obvious, of actual gatekeeping, we are the protectors of the twelve divine gates. The existence of Stellar and the reason for gamers being so high up on the hierarchy is precisely for protect our twelve divine gates.

Each clan has its hierarchy and of course, within each clan there is one important being. That person is called the contractor. He/she is the chosen of the gate. To oversee and protect its connection to the stellar sea. But contractors do not normally defend their gates, as they do not have the abilities for such. So, to find the best possible way to defend our gates, the 12 clans and Stellar (government body) decided to build rift gates that allow those with high potential to neutralize threats. In gaming terms you can consider it as players killing monsters in a dungeon.

That is why gamers are so important, good seeds are recruited by the four titans who are then claimed by their respective clans, to defend out gates. Of course, the clan itself is not useless. The clan is tasked with cultivating the youths in martial arts to help them fight once they enter the rifts. Once they join, it is not just a mere game anymore, but true life and death. If you die, you will return to the stars."

Having been overloaded by what his father has told him, Li Fuji felt that there was something missing, "So, we are part of the Li Clan. Who is also one of the three gatekeepers for Yggdrasil. But then who are we fighting against, and how does this related to mom being alive?"

"Each titan in actuality is in actuality a major star gate. Each major star gate is made up of 3 minor star gates, each minor star gate is assigned an ancient clan as its gatekeeper. 12 gates, 12 clans. But in actuality, there is one more. We call them the Dark Void, walkers of the night, servants to Ophiuchus.

The 12 gates has its given guardians, each guardian born of the cosmos. Ophiuchus, can be said to be the 13th. Though Ophiuchus believes that the cosmos has no need for beings that only think for themselves, views love as something as simply as putting on a new set of clothes, and killing others for more benefits. Thus, it wished to open the four gates to send in Void Beasts to create chaos. All so that it can use the chaos to create a new and more perfect world.

Your mother, was the contractor of Aries. But unlike those who came before her, she was able to enter the rift and battle. You need to know that to have a contractor bless warriors to fight and to enter themselves are two very extremely different things. They as contractors, control the element and can call upon the power of the gate guardian. With such power, it would truly tip the scales in the endless battle.

As such, your mother became a threat to the Dark Void. That night, they moved to take her out. I was called back to the clan on an assignment and you were too young. They had no need to stir up more trouble than they already did, and if they tried to take you and your sister as well, it would be too much commotion. So, they drugged your mom and took her away.

The only reason why we know she's alive is because the Gate of Aries still glows bright. We assume that the Dark Void is trying to come up with a way to strip her powers and use it as their own. If they could do so, they would be ever so closer to taking down a gate. With Aries being the Main gate of the three, taking it down, would mean the Ignatius would be greatly weakened.

Those people who came today, may be hired men that the Dark Void sent. They must've thought to use you as a chip to make your mother bend to their will. You must remember, she is the first to ever enter a rift as a contractor. Her powers are beyond any other contractor in past and present existence. To them, she is valuable, until the day they take what they need."