Wish upon the Stars chapter 346

We didn't get attacked after the fifth match, which I attributed to  how many of the cult got cleaned up in the raid last night. Since the  other forces were busy recovering (or trying to exploit the Cult's  weakness) we were safe enough to bring Alec and crew back to the house  with us. Zeke was already gone when we came out, as were most of the  others, so I assumed he'd beaten us home.

With Rime along I  wasn't worried about an attack and the house seemed like the safest  place to discuss my mother. I was kind of excited honestly. I knew very  little about my mom, and these people were actual MEMBERS of the Church.  Granted they were external members, but any A-ranker should be more  than well known, and they definitely had some idea about what she was  like.

As for why I was so enthusiastic? I guessed deep  down I didn't blame my mom as much as my dad for leaving. Seeing what  happened to Zeke made me suspect my dad had forced the issue, plus I  spent so long thinking she was dead, so there was a part of me that was  still in shock that I even had the chance to eventually meet her some  day. I tried to temper that excitement with pragmatism though, she was  an A-ranker, and that meant not really a human with an understandable  mindset. What that meant for her specific case wasn't clear, but it  would mean something.

We texted Zeke on the way, and he  said that he WAS back at the house waiting, since the house was his  territory as much as ours and the rules for interference was a bit  weaker when his own stuff was threatened. I was pretty sure that  wouldn't be true if I outright told him I was skirting the rules to  bring them there, but since I left it up in the air it shouldn't matter.

"I  appreciate the heals." Alec said as we sat in the back seat of the car.  "Where exactly is this place?" All of us were able to fit pretty  easily, but the atmosphere was a little weird. None of them knew exactly  what was happening. We'd invited them over to meet, but they weren't  exactly close to us. I think the only real reason he accepted was that  we'd already said yes to his party invite and gone in blind, plus we'd  healed him and I was pretty sure he warned his own faction before  leaving.

It was a gutsy move, and I liked him a bit more  for it. "Not far. We should be there in a few minutes. Can I get you  guys something to eat or drink when we get there?"

Callie beamed. "Solomon is a fantastic cook, you should take him up on it. He can whip something up pretty fast too."

Which  was true, as long as I wasn't pushing. Making higher leveled food with  better materials was time consuming, but if I wanted to cook up some  mortal snacks it wouldn't take long. The combination of my Focus,  Perception, and Might meaning I could handle things like frying pans  quickly and with extreme precision.

They waved us off,  thanking us but saying they weren't hungry. We chatted a bit about  earlier matches in the tournament and just general facts about the  planet before finally arriving and going inside. I was glad they seemed  to know that we wouldn't speak about private matters until we were  somewhere more protected.

Once we were inside, I took off  my coat, though I left the mask on for now. I wanted to relax a bit but I  wasn't comfortable showing my face, even if that was stupid because  dozens of powerful people saw it in Doomtown. Cass and Cark weren't  here, having vacated when we texted just in case, and the animals were  in their own building, so it was just us and Zeke, who wasn't visible  despite me knowing he was here.

"So, what's all this  about?" Asked Alec. "We appreciate the heal, but if you're hoping to  question us or something we'll have to shut that idea down. You did us a  favor, but we're not like those mercenaries the other factions have  hired." He seemed on his guard, like we would just attack them to force  them to tell us their secrets.

I wasn't planning that, and  I knew Callie would follow my lead here, since this was mine to tell.  So I considered how to explain. "No." I said definitively. "We aren't  going to try to force you to tell us anything. In fact, I'm hoping  you'll listen while I tell YOU something."

Alec raised an  eyebrow but didn't say anything, waiting for me to continue. I decided  to give him a bit of background. "Did you know." I asked  conversationally. "That I had all my stats when I awakened? I was told  that's uncommon, and the main reason it happens is that the Ascendant in  question had powerful parents. Now I know my dad is powerful, but he  isn't someone for you to care about. My mother though, she's A-rank from  what I know. And she might be of interest to you all."

"How  so?" He said calmly, but I could tell he had at least an idea where  this was going. He wasn't an idiot, and for them to care about who my  mom was, she'd either need to be a total monster or someone from their  faction.

"My mother is a Saintess of the Red Revenant  Church." I said matter of factly. "It's something that's brought me into  conflict with the Cult at least once or twice. I figured if they cared  enough to try to murder me over it you might care enough to be willing  to be friends?"

Alec's eyes had widened, and his pupils  narrowed to pinpricks. He was standing VERY still, though whether out of  fear or some other emotion I had no idea. "There are several hundred  Saintesses." He said, his voice radiating an obviously forced calm.  "Which one, might I ask, are you related to?"

I shrugged.  "My mom's name is Sasha. I'm not sure how many Sasha's might be in the  higher ranks of the Church, but one of the crazies who tried to kill me  mentioned she was the youngest Saint the church had, if that helps."

Lena,  who had been letting her captain do the talking, SQUEALED in glee.  "Sasha the STAR QUEEN? The Fist of the Radiant Pope herself? Oh my  Revenant, are you serious? Can you introduce us? Can I get an autograph?  Do you have any pictures?"

She was gushing like I'd told  her my mom was her favorite pop singer, which given we were all  Ascendants might not be too far off the mark. "Maybe one or two." I said  calmly. "She left when I was young, and I'm not sure why. But can you  tell me more about her? What do you mean the Star Queen? Who is the  Radiant Pope?"

Alec held up a hand to stop her. Giving the  excited blonde a disapproving frown. "Sorry. Solomon, Lena can't always  read the room. I can tell your relationship with your mother isn't  exactly close, and I apologize if my teammate was insensitive. I can  answer your questions for you, if you'd like. Since SOMEONE has the  social skills of a blunt battle axe."

Lena pouted at him.  "Shut up. Just because mom likes you better doesn't mean you can be mean  to me. Daddy says that as the oldest it's your job to help guide me and  teach me when I do something wrong. Scolding me in front of new friends  isn't very teacher-y of you."

He rolled his eyes. "That  isn't a word. And dad cuts you too much slack because you inherited his  ability."Huh. Guess they were siblings. He turned back to me. "Ignore  Lena. I can answer your questions since I'm the CAPTAIN OF MY TEAM." He  said loudly, clearly aiming that at his sister.

"The  Radiant Pope." He started with. "Is one of the S-ranked Popes of the Red  Revenant Church. Most of them are the original disciples the Revenant  took in as he was rising to power millennia ago." He paused. "Anyone who  hits S-rank attains the Pope Job, but most of the most powerful were  personal disciples, since they inherited some of his powerful Skills.  The Radiant Pope is the youngest of the original disciples."

Lena  nodded enthusiastically. "He's also the Star Queen's DAD. She inherited  his ability, which most people think is some kind of photosynthesis  that makes you physically stronger by absorbing light, but she altered  it as she progressed. When she fights, she glows like a star and her  physical power is unparalleled. It's crazy, and some people claim it's  an entirely separate ABILITY, like she might have two, which almost  never happens."

She  sounded...terrifying. And amazing. I wondered what she was like as a  person. I didn't remember her at all. Maybe she was intense and driven?  Or maybe she was kind and had a core of steel underneath? Maybe she had a  temper, like I did sometimes. Gods knew I didn't get it from dad. The  idea that she had two abilities like the current Wishmaster just made  her seem even more mysterious.

I  paused at that, looking at Alec as I processed all that. "Speaking of  which, do YOU have two abilities? Because I saw you using wind and fire  in that fight. Was one of them a Skill?" I was pretty sure it was, but  he must have been using a bunch of different Skills to get those  effects, which made me curious how strong his soul actually was, because  that would be exhausting.

To my  surprise, Zeke answered. "He was using the Fist of the Red God."  Everyone jumped as my uncle appeared on one of the couches. I wondered  why he waited, but maybe he stayed out of the conversation until they  told me more about my mom so he didn't need to risk being involved.

Whatever the reasoning, I was pretty curious about his comment. "What is the Fist of the Red God?"

"It's  a martial art the Red Revenant created personally." At our shock he  snickered a bit. "That doesn't mean he taught it personally. It's a  unique Skill but he took it far enough to make a systematic training  regimen. Still, it's overcomplicated and notoriously annoying to learn.  I'm surprised you bothered." He said to Alec with a nod of approval.

The  shorter guy sighed. "My personal ability was too weak. The Fist is  extremely powerful and synergizes extremely well with wind abilities. I  could achieve power with it using only one Skill that I'd have needed  several to accomplish with normal synergies."

Zeke  shrugged. "Not a bad idea, and it clearly worked for you." He looked at  the other team, clearly searching for something in their faces. "That  said, I didn't come meet you all because I wanted to compliment your  fighting style. I came because I have another question."

That  didn't seem to be a surprise to Alec. "You want to know if we'll  support him because of his parentage." I'd been wondering that too, and  not having to ask was definitely helpful.

To  my surprise though, Zeke shook his head with a small smile. "Children.  Always so quick to jump to conclusions. No, kid. I don't want to know if  you're going to back him. I want to know if you have the qualifications  to do so." Alec looked confused, but I understood what he was doing. It  skirted the edge of what was allowed because it showed more than they  knew, but if he put it that way I was pretty sure it was allowed by the  geas.

Callie  must have felt it through the bond, because she braced herself as I  did, grabbing my hand because I was sure we weren't going to be  excluded. Looking Alec right in the eye, Zeke released his aura, letting  is smash us all down into the cushions. I felt like I was drowning,  being crushed by a million tons of rubble, and as I lay there looking at  the other team I smiled a bit internally. If they passed this test,  they'd remember this. Remember what Zeke really was. My uncle really did  do the best he could to help where was able.