全城危机

"That secret would also explain why your father was so over-protective of you. And..." Alexander continued. "It has to be something that the Scions of Zegaro and Perses really, really want… or fear. Try and remember if there are clues in your childhood as to what that secret is."

He did not say, however, that it was probably also the reason why her father paid such a high price to end the war.

Flamewing remained silent as she pondered the issue. She reflected on the memories of her childhood, straining to remember if there were curious happenings or questionable words/actions by her parents or people around her.

"There\'s nothing." She finally said.

"Maybe you\'re somehow the key to their success. Maybe… You\'re a Scion of Zegaro?" Alexander offered helpfully.

Flamewing made a weird snorting sound, an unusual combination of a scoff and a laugh. A scoff because it was absolutely ridiculous that her parents would allow her to be a Scion of Zegaro. A laugh because a Scion was hardly a deal breaker in the grand scheme of things. Plus they lost many Scions in the war. Senior and powerful Scions. It was absolutely impossible for them to do that just because she was a Scion of Zegaro.

"Maybe you\'re something more than a Scion. Maybe you\'re an incarnation of Zegaro, or even Perses himself!" Alexander said in faux horror.

Flamewing gave what was an equivalent to a mental rolling of her eyes. "You might not see it, but my eyes are rolling. In fact, they\'re rolling so much I\'m getting dizzy."

Alexander laughed out loud. "But seriously, you must be really something for both the good guys and the bad guys to want you so badly. What could be a game changer for the war between Magius and the Scions of Zegaro and Perses?"

"Well, for one thing the resurrection of Zegaro and/or Perses would be absolutely catastrophic to us. It would even the playing field, and allow them to hold a massive comeback. We\'ve beaten them senseless, and we\'re merely trying to clear their roots. We\'re essentially cleaning up. But if Zegaro or Perses comes back, then it\'ll be a massive universe-level war all over again. Of course the reverse is true. If we somehow resurrect Paladinos, then the clean up would be done much sooner."

"There\'s no way that you\'re an incarnation of any of the Gods? It\'ll be great if you\'re Paladinos."

"Eyes rolling." Flamewing responded.

"What would be the next best thing for us or for them?" Alexander continued his questioning.

"Various things, I guess. Inheritances that would grant them the ability to create more Scions, for one thing. Ever since Zegaro and Perses died, they only had two methods for them to increase the number of Scions. One was to pass on the powers of an existing Scion to another person. And the other is to receive their God\'s blessing through inheritances. Inheritances are basically objects that carry a God\'s essence and would be able to transfer that essence to a person to make that person a Scion. You, for example, became a Scion of Perses because of an object you touched back on Earth."

"What object?" Alexander narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember how it happened.

"It doesn\'t really matter. It could be anything." Flamewing said.

"Hmmm." Alexander mused softly. "Earth, of all places. It is basically just a farm for Symphonia. And now, to somehow make the best use out of that farm, they\'ve unleashed a monster that wants to go for their jugular. Ironic, that Symphonian resources would fund the uprising that would eventually take them down."

"Don\'t forget that Earth was also the place of the final battle between the Gods. You probably managed to get the last blessing of Perses. Plus, that is life. It\'s never just a simple straight line. " Flamewing agreed.

"Would the power I got from Magius be considered as his essence? I mean, am I a Scion of Magius as well now?"

"You wish." Flamewing chuckled. "If you became a Scion of Magius as well, then you\'ll be a Scion Lord, a perso… wait a minute. If you become a Scion of Magius as well, then you\'ll be a Scion Lord!!" Flamewing exclaimed.

"Errr… Okay? So am I? A Scion Lord?" Alexander asked in confusion.

"This is BIG! A Scion Lord would be the next most powerful being that could change the course of the entire war! Are you a Scion Lord, Alexander?" Flamewing asked him excitedly.

"That\'s what I want to know too! What\'s a Scion Lord and how do I know whether I am one or not?" Alexander asked.

"A Scion Lord is someone who is a Scion of two gods! They are extremely, extremely powerful beings. Usually, a person could only ever be a Scion of one god. For one thing, a person\'s body would not be able to deal with two very different power systems. And for another, Scions of Gods are usually a God\'s closest follower. No God would ever grant another God\'s Scion his own powers to make him a Scion Lord. It only happened a few times in history, and those times were born out of complete necessity. Once, when Paladinos and Magius were seriously wounded. Paladinos granted one of Magius\'s Scions his blessings, making him a Scion Lord and allowing him to lead the forces of good. His name was Dragostan. Dragostan of Dragonos." Flamewing said rather proudly at this.

"Combined with Magius\'s Dragon Knights, they managed to resist Zegaro and Perses long enough for Paladinos and Magius to recover." Flamewing explained patiently with a hint of excitement in her voice."

"And the second time? Or third time?" Alexander asked curiously.

"The second time, or times, was of course when Zegaro and Perses made Scion Lords for themselves to counter Dragostan. Perses was more liberal in his blessings, and he actually made quite a number of Scion Lords. However, they all fell one after another to Dragostan.

Finally, they realized that quality trumps quantity. They picked the strongest undead and Perses made sure personally that he received the highest and most concentrated amount of blessing. They made an extremely powerful Scion Lord. He was an Orc Lich King named Rak\'Tagor.

Although he was not as powerful as Dragostan personally, Rak\'Tagor was an incredible general. Coupled with his endless undead army, he managed to trap and kill Dragostan near the end of the war. However, it was too late. Paladinos and Magius had recovered by then, and the decisive final battle was soon fought. Rak\'Tagor fell in battle against the two Gods.

And you know the ending to that story. Zegaro, Perses and Paladinos perished, leaving Magius as the only God of the Universe.

There were no Scion Lords, ever after that. The inheritances weren\'t powerful enough to create Scion Lords, and Paladinos left NO inheritances, can you believe it? And of course Magius would never grant his blessings to the enemy Scions. So we\'ve never had a Scion Lord… until now?? Are you a Scion Lord??" Flamewing asked again excitedly.

"How do I find out?? Am I supposed to feel something?" Alexander asked with slight exasperation.

"Uhhh.. I don\'t know how you\'ll know. A Scion Lord is more than just an addition of two different powers. It\'s a complete merge. A synergy of some sort. Do you feel anything special about your powers?"

Alexander closed his eyes and tried to sense his powers.

He could feel his arcane power, brimming with indescribable strength in every single part of his body. It was a massive qualitative upgrade from the power he had previously, but it was due to the fact that he had received it directly from Magius. Unfiltered and contaminated by genes.

He tried to sense his other power. But it was difficult.

"Can you tell me exactly what I should be sensing?" Alexander finally asked Flamewing.

"Vitality from Paladinos. It affects lifespan and fertility. A blessing would drastically increase lifespan, fertility and virility. At higher levels, you\'ll be almost impervious to damage.

Magic from Magius. It affects power over nature. A blessing would drastically increase your magical capacity, affinity and ability. At higher levels, you\'ll be able to cast spells instantly with greater power.

Death from Zegaro. It affects power over death. A blessing would allow you to summon other undeads. Lich Kings and Necrophos are such examples of Scions. At higher levels, you\'ll be able to create undead with the ability to create other undeads.

Wisdom from Perses. It affects your intellect and power in war. A blessing would allow you to be supreme in the battlefield and in war. At higher levels, Well, you\'ll know when you know." Flamewing ended her narrative mysteriously.

"Lifespan? Didn\'t the Testing Pillar indicate that my lifespan is unusually long as well? Am I a Scion of Paladinos as well?"Alexander asked, his heart thumping slightly faster. If he was, it would be insane. There had never been a Scion of THREE Gods.