‎Morgan's POV

‎Morgan had watched the others train together for a while, occasionally joining in the drills as well.

‎After all, keeping his battle skills sharp was the one thing he could do in the days leading up to their little self-imposed expedition.

‎This was mostly because he was more or less evenly matched with Talia and Lucian, who were the more refined fighters in the group, which probably made him a good fighter as well.

‎But he preferred not to think much of it.

‎Such a train of thought could get you killed when it mattered.

‎Emily and Samantha were making terrific progress, but of course, the two Talented girls were nowhere near as good as the assassin scions.

‎Talia and Lucian were beasts on a completely different level. And from the few times Morgan had seen Cassius fight, the Talented wasn't an ordinary youth either.

‎Wth his natural brute strength and speed, Cassius was a force to be reckoned with. At least if they weren't several times his size.

‎Then there was Amanda.

‎Morgan hadn't interacted with her the least out of all of them

‎Even during meal times when most of them opened up about themselves, the Talented girl was strangely quiet. Always listening and silently staring into the fire, with a dreamy, lost expression.

‎"Awkward..."

‎While the redhead kept to herself most of the time and wasn't exactly much of a conversationalist, her fighting skills were above average, and when she used them in tandem with her mysteriously handicapped ability, she truly became a monster.

‎But perhaps the true anomaly in their little group was Morgan himself.

‎Despite discovering his heritage later than the other scions, the fact that he could go toe to toe and keep up with them was astounding in itself.

‎A fact that he kept to himself. You never really could know who to trust in a society filled with phantoms, ghosts, and born killers

‎A good example was Lucian.

‎Morgan had noticed the small changes in his friend's persona. Of course, there was no point in making a fuss about it.

‎In fact, it was to be expected. Morgan would have been more surprised if the young scion had turned out to be defenseless even in Tenebris.

‎Morgan had discovered the scion was really good with a blade, something that the brilliant scion never let on at the academy.

‎"Probably did specialized training of some sort before the academy... "

‎

‎But while it didn't explain why Lucian had allowed the repeated beatings from Draco and his brother to continue, he certainly wasn't going to pry.

‎ Everyone deserved to have a few secrets of their own.

‎Talia Varas, on the other hand, seemed to have developed an unhealthy interest in him.

‎Over the course of the past few days, Morgan had caught the blonde-haired girl stealing glances at him from time to time and sometimes even outright staring.

‎One evening, he'd even asked Lucian about it.

‎"What's her deal?"

‎"Talia ?"

‎Lucuan slowly shook his head.

‎" Probably curious about your family. Thanes aren't exactly a dime a dozen in this day and age."

‎Smiling faintly, Morgan shook his head, gently prodding the makeshift campfire.

‎"You know what they say, curiosity killed that cat."

‎Lucian chuckled, taking off his glasses.

‎"Oh, I would advise you against that. Even if you managed to kill her, at the level you're at, you'd still be dead."

‎Morgan stared at him, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

‎"Kill? What's that about?"

‎Lucjan smirked, wearing his glasses and adjusting them slightly.

‎"Just joking, just joking."

‎Talia silently stared at the two boys bantering in low tones.

‎At times, she'd even asked him about his technique, how he'd gotten that strong.

‎Sometimes, Morgan couldn't help but get surprised at how bold she was.

‎Their conversations often went like this.

‎"How often do you train back home?"

‎"Quite a bit. Several times."

‎Or

‎" Sounds like you're really dedicated, I mean, for you to be this good...."

‎" No, not really, you guys are way better at this. I mean, have you seen you with your guns? Pretty wicked stuff."

‎

‎" Any specific training advice?"

‎" Just keep at it. Consistency really helps; besides, you're already really good at this. I should be the one asking you for advice."

‎

‎Before learning about the Brotherhood, Morgan had already been good at reading people, some more than others. And thanks to Luke, he was discovering just how necessary deception was in this particular kind of life.

‎If what he'd observed so far from the assassins he'd spent time with, so far, the only person that was allowed to know the truth was you. In public, in the academy, everyone simply wore a mask, changed faces, and the better you were at it, the better an advantage you had.

‎Your ability to play your role perfectly without relying on your emotions and feelings played a crucial role in how far you could get and how good an assassin you eventually became.

‎And with the passage of time, Morgan was discovering that he was actually getting better and better at it with every passing day.

‎So much so that at times, it felt he had several different personalities in his head.

‎ The thought of losing himself within the myriad of different personalities should have scared him, but it didn't. He was perfectly calm and frighteningly at ease with the situation.

‎But from Luke and Damien's descriptions, Alexander, his father had been the same.

‎"I guess it runs in the family....huh."

‎

‎Further exploration of the ancient temple had yielded nothing.

‎After some more time, Lucian and Morgan thought the two girls would be able to keep up just in case anything happened, not that it mattered since there was little choice in the matter.

‎Morgan wasn't sure how much time had passed on Earth or whether the flow of time was affected depending on the different places they reached in Tenebris, but one thing he wanted was to get back as fast as possible, and hopefully in one piece.

‎The anticipation was palpable as they gathered their equipment, meticulously checking each piece.

‎Emily and Morgan meticulously mapped out the route.

‎Morgan gathered the rest, going through the details of the plan for them.

‎"After dealing with the Bretnar King, we'll make our way underground through one of the ruins. We discovered a tunnel leading deep underground. We'll use that to travel to the city beneath."

‎Samantha interjected at this point, raising her hand slightly.

‎"Is it necessary to kill the Bretnar king?"

‎Morgan smiled faintly at her question, his eyes turning slightly darker. He nodded slowly, staring at the brunette.

‎"The Bretnar king is one of the most intelligent Tenebrian creatures I've come across in my stay here. In case anything happens and we need to make a hasty retreat, that thing could be the only thing standing between us and a safe retreat."

‎" I've encountered it before, I don't think I can face it head-on, in case I've fought other foes before it. And rather than risk that, I'd rather fight it right now, while I'm at my best. Besides, killing that thing would throw the bretnar into a state of disarray."

‎Cassius grinned, nodding his head in agreement.

‎"And you're overlooking one crucial fact...that thing is probably going to be our source of food while we're down there.

‎ There's no telling what kind of horrors we're going to encounter in that place."

‎Cassius' eyes hardened slightly, his voice becoming quieter.

‎"From what we've seen of this place so far, I'm quite sure it's below the surface for a reason. Not to mention what you said about it resembling a different place."

‎ The air became thick with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. The underground city, with its obscure mysteries and hidden secrets, beckoned them forward, igniting a hunger in each of the members of the ragtag group.

‎Togethe,r the three scions and four Take red made for an unusual sight.

‎In fact, Cassius and Amanda could have sworn it was probably the first time such a thing had happened since the age of Monarchs.

‎The promise of discovery was too alluring to resist, and the group knew that what lay ahead could change everything, and on the off chance that they discovered a powerful transportation artifact, they could even get home.

‎

‎With a final nod of agreement, the whole crew set off, their footsteps echoing softly against the stone tiles of the large courtyard.

‎ The dim light of the luminescent pillars glowed faintly in the dim light of the cavern, casting shadows that danced and swayed in the darker parts of the city.

‎As they delved deeper into the heart of the ancient city, the weight of the history of the place seemed to press down upon them.

‎"You know this could be the last time we're seeing this place," Emily murmured, her green eyes sweeping across the deserted ruins.

‎Her voice echoed through the empty street, stirring a bittersweet melancholic feeling.

‎Morgan silently observed the open air above them for Bretnar

‎"You're probably right..."

‎Lucian cast the two of them a furtive glance in amusement.

‎" While I can't relate to this sudden sense of nostalgia, I think we should focus on the task at hand."

‎Talia nodded slightly.

" Let's get this over with."

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