As the Sorting Hat cried for help, rows of words echoed around Black, seeping into his Source.
"Alright. That's enough."
Black felt like he had suddenly fallen into a storm.
The gusts of wind around him robbed him of his Haki.
It scattered the yellow lines off the Sorting Hat's robes. It also scattered Calm, wherever it existed.
For the first time, Black's shoulders and knees shook… in terror.
He felt small. Inconsequential. Utterly powerless.
He felt like he was nothing.
Only a Storm existed.
"Told you," the words rang again with a hint of amusement. "It wouldn't be this easy to fool him."
Getting crushed under the mountain of horror, Black turned his head to look to his left; one frame after another.
He was standing behind the counter.
He was wearing a white shirt over black, half-pants, and naked feet. The buttons of the shirt were open, showcasing His raw muscular stature donning scars.
He had thick muscles, veins popping off, slithering under the bronze-colored skin. He had white short hair, though He didn't look too old. His head was down with a cigar in His mouth, a thick, white beard and mustache wrapped around it.
He was cleaning an empty glass with a cloth.
He chuckled, looked up, and puffed out smoke.
His hazel eyes burned gold behind the blurry, shadowy darkness.
And just like the name The Existence had materialized in Kai's heart in the Primordial Tower, despite him not knowing it, a name now bubbled up in his heart again, like an explosion.
The Banished. He was The Banished.
But the word that came out of Black's mouth wasn't the name bubbling up in his heart. It was something that had never come up to his lips in the last 1300 years.
Black's lips trembled as he called out The Banished.
"… Dad?!"
…
This face…
This smile…
Those hazel eyes…
Deeper than Kai's…
Darker than Black's…
Harder than Edith Stormborn's…
He had seen this man before, but only in photographs. He had heard of this man from foreign mouths.
He had felt this man's presence in memories and dreams, through stories whispered by his mother.
Where was this man? When he was born.
Where was this man? When the world was burdening his shoulders with expectations.
Where was this man? When they had killed his mother. When they had destroyed their House. When they had turned him into Blood Demon.
WHERE HAD HE BEEN ALL THIS TIME?!!
Tears streamed down Black's face, his voice quivering as he whispered, "Dad..."
…
Alan Stormborn, The Banished, The 19th-floor Contestant, The Emperor, The Conqueror of the Characters, smiled at His son, stroking the white beard, smoke puffing out from cigar in trails.
"Yo!" he said, burying his mysteries within to not overwhelm the poor boy. He vanished and reappeared right between Black and the Sorting Hat. "Look at you. All grown up, huh?"
"... Dad..."
"I told this stupid hat, you know?"
"... Dad..."
"I told it. You can't fool a Stormborn. One way or another..."
"... Dad..."
"... we always manage to turn things around, don't we?"
"... Dad..."
"I'm sorry for—"
"... Dad..."
"... what happened with Edith..."
The thing that happened next, Black wouldn't remember even though the Ad Infinitum was at its highest point right now.
…
The space between him and his father was too narrow.
No way he could move his arms to balance himself. No way he could even think of balancing himself with a storm raging in his mind, clouding the AI itself.
Biokinesis activated by itself, first.
His body underwent a change so minute and thorough that even the cells shifted, some vanishing right away and new hybrid cells appearing in their place under the effect of instant hormonal variation.
His breath was breaking as he sobbed.
Tissues, Organs, and the very concept of breathing changed, nonetheless.
After sacrificing a part of his physical prowess to Death, Kai had lost his command over Total Concentration Constant.
This was also why he couldn't use Second Transformation: Joyless Slaughter, because it needed Constant Breathing to back it up.
Otherwise, there was no way Kai could actively control so many Echoes.
A notification appeared, got registered by the AI, but also got ignored by Black, his eyes squeezed shut in pain that made his soul cry.
…
[Advance Selfless Breathing: Proficiency 60% (+14%)]
…
"I wish I could be there…"
"… Dad…"
"… but…"
"… Dad…"
…
Black needed balance, desperately.
The cells in his brain bubbled, disintegrated, and regenerated at a pace faster than possible, even with all the buffs compiling right now, boosting his Stats.
Master Telekinesis took over, controlling his body, lifting his leg, and manipulating every fiber of his muscles, bones, and blood.
Because he needed balance.
Balance surpassing what he was capable of now.
And so the notification appeared, got registered by the AI, but also got ignored by Black; again.
…
[Master Telekinesis: Proficiency 70% (+30%)]
…
It wouldn't be enough, either.
"… but, I failed. I failed you. I failed her. I failed myself…"
"… Dad…"
Hmmm...…
Black's right leg glistened black in perceptions, Armament Haki descending upon it like a divine blessing.
It wouldn't be enough, either.
"… I am sorry, son."
"… Dad…"
Cra-ck-kk...…
Yellow-black bolts of lightning cracked, coating his right leg with Conqueror's Haki, too.
The Emission and Infusion was flawless.
And so the notification appeared, got registered by the AI, but also got ignored by Black; many times over.
…
[
Advance Martial Arts: Proficiency 100% (+30%)
Advance Martial Arts has leveled up to become Master Martial Arts
…
Master Martial Arts: Proficiency 100% (+100%)
Master Martial Arts has leveled up to become an Elite Ability
…
Elite Ability: Renewal Recoilless
]
…
"I am sorry… for leaving you two alone when you needed me the most."
Black looked up, his vision blurring behind the sheet of wetness. "… Dad.. Will you shut the fuck up?"
Selfless Breathing: Third Transformation — Black Original —
The kick didn't make contact with flesh, but it landed right where it was intended.
Alan Stormborn's back arched like a bow, the cigar shooting out of his mouth. Bolts of yellow and black lightning slithered around him, cracking and thundering. Even before his legs left the ground, the wooden structure around him disintegrated.
It was night. They were standing in the middle of open grounds, surrounded by sleeping hills. A tiny, full moon hung in the sky, oozing hazel moonlight.
The dimension was small, perhaps the planet itself wasn't as big as a city. Perhaps it was just an imagined world. But it didn't matter.
Alan Stormborn hovered in the air, his eyes wide with shock.
From his back, a storm erupted, yellow-black winds raging, twisting, and howling.
Like a rocket shooting through the sky, the storm closed the gap between Alan's back and the moon in an instant.
The round moon still hung in the sky, complete and serene.
Then, the storm hit its hazel surface and the moon shattered, mountains of rock disintegrating into nothingness.
And just as Alan Stormborn's knee struck the earth, just as Black's right leg returned to its place, the world exploded with sound.
B00000000000000000000000000000M!!!
— Recoiless Storm!!!
**************
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