Mountain Ren
In the west side of Anima, the group have marched onto Mountain Ren. The very biome named after the Ren Family. which is also a safe haven for orphans the Ren Clan have raised to become the next generation of warriors to secure the safety of the Rens. The original leader of the clan is Liu Ren, Lie and Mi Ren's grandfather.
The first and second heirs to the clan are his twin children, Li and Mai. Li is Lie's father, the elder twin. The original heir to the clan who ran to live with the woman he loves and escaped from an arranged marriage, but he was still in better terms with his father after. Sadly, he was killed in the attack of Kuroyuri defending his son from Grimm.
Mai Ren is the younger twin, and Mi's mother. The current head of the clan. She was second in line to lead the clan after her brother's leave from their home. Mai is arranged to marry the son of the Jin Clan's leader to form an alliance, having to train her daughter, Mi to become a huntress. Despite that the marriage is arranged, it was also out of love, and putting their strengths together to unite their clans. Choi's niece is the current heiress to the Jin Clan since Choi is a member of the Ren Clan.
Mi Ren was a student at Haven Academy, under new management of the new headmaster after Lionheart's death. Her mother, Mai, advised that the world of Remnant is a dark place, to be self aware of her surroundings. She was only one year younger than Ren. But the two Ren cousins almost look like they're twins.
They arrived at the front gates to be greeted by Mi's father, Choi Ren. Formerly known as Choi Jin before he married into the Ren family. The warriors guarding the gate bowed to Lie and Mi in a form of respect.
"Father, tell Mother that we returned with guests. And to get medic for the injured as well." Said Mi. And her father nodded. As Choi went to inform his wife of their daughter's return. He entered the Ren Temple in the living room. Where he sees her meditating.
"Dearest. Mi and Lie have returned, and they invited a few other guests." Reported Choi. Her eyes slowly opened when she turned to her husband. "Send them in. We have matters to discuss." She said in a serious tone. And Choi nodded to let the others in. Then he invites them all into their home. As they entered the living room, there was a raven-haired woman in her 40s or 50s. Still, she looks beautiful for her age. Her aura is far calmer than they could imagine. Lie and Mi have bowed, also in a form of respect. They prompted the others to do the same.
"Mi, I am glad you and Lie have returned safely. I supposed you made new friends, how wonderful of you." Said Mai, smiling gently. Ruby then came forward to greet the main head of the Ren family. "It's an honor to meet you, Mrs. Ren. I am Ruby Rose, a huntress graduate from Shade Academy. We're here to ask you some questions of the people walking into the water after being under a trance."
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. My nephew has told me a lot about you, and Mr. Arc. My husband and I told him that you're all welcomed at any time. Please, have a seat." Offered Mai, they all sat on the soft carpet, much to their comfort. Hot tea was brought to them after an exhausting journey.
"So, you know what was going on right now. Right, Mrs. Ren? Our friends' in danger, and we need to know how to stop it as well." Asked Scarlet, while looking at Nolan, and then back to Mai.
"Is your friend, by any chance, go by the last name, Vasilias?" Asked Mai, while sipping her tea in her fingertips. Before putting it down on the floor. Sun nodded to answer her question. "The curse of the Vasiliases. I feared this day will come." Replied Mai. Lie then came forward to ask for more questions. With such knowledge and philosophy, and such serenity, it was enough to see that she can tell like some kind of fortune teller. Thunder and lightning have boomed outside the raining weather. Mai then pointed outside. "That storm over there. It is the first stage of the curse." Sun, Sage and Scarlet never heard something like that. But Neptune didn't know it either until now. But they are also worried that something bad will happened to their friend.
"What do you mean by the curse? Neptune never told us anything about that." Sun stated.
"Perhaps he didn't know about that since a young age." Mai stated also.
"Auntie, how did you know about the curse?" Asked Lie. Mi then stood up to stand by her mother's side. In case she needs backup for more explanation. "Saturn and I, have been part of the inner circle that searches for the answers to the mysteries of Remnant. No one ever knew about it since his eldest son went missing until you brought him to us. There's no need to worry, he'll be treated just fine, we have the best medics in the Clan. Long ago, Saturn and I have discovered the curse that would mean the end of humanity. He along with his children were the last descendants of the Sea Warriors in Poseidon Island. We decipher some runes in this very tablet." Mai then activates a device by pulling a book from a shelf and opening the panel on the floor to reveal a tablet with runes they didn't recognized.
"Saturn? As in Neptune's dad?" Asked Sun.
"These are the runes that only I can translate. It says here that once a chosen descendant of Cascade Vasilias is selected, then his or her destiny will be to collect every single aura from the Sea People, and while the vessel survives, the rest will be reduced to nothing but water. In other words, the one you called Neptune, has been chosen to become the vessel to become the reincarnation of his ancestor, Cascade Vasilias." Those words have brought up the fright among the group. Lightning crashes in the air once again. "All of you were too young back then. So we wait for the time being, until today. The reason why these people are in a trance, it's because they were all descendants of the sea people." Explained Mai.
"How was this curse designed to begin with? The whole family shouldn't be punished for what their ancestor did." Asked Sage. Standing up to cross his arms.
"There is a reason why the whole Vasilias bloodline is cursed by the God of Seas. It was all because of the encounter with a person with royal blood. This all began in the middle of the Great War. That tale was once thought to be a myth, but it wasn't. About 125 years ago, the civilians in Poseidon Island have been living in their peaceful lives, that place was the source of the water dust crystals. They were once peace-loving people, until they were asked for alliances by the four kingdoms in hopes to end the war for good. But their answer was always no. There were two brothers, trained to lead their people, and defend the island. The elder brother is named, Cascade Vasilias, while the younger one is Milos Vasilias. They were once close brothers. Inseparable. Water-based semblances were said to be the gift from the God of Seas, which is the reason that the Sea People would either be hunted down, or taken advantage for selfish purposes. One of the Lotus Warriors are also the last descendants of the Sea People. My father have took them in for hopes it would bring peace in all of Remnant. When the brothers led their men into battle against Mantle, currently known as Atlas, they would soon encounter the Kraken, a legendary Grimm that was impossible to defeat. Some have survived, including the brothers. But others didn't make it out alive. After that, Cascade was drifted to Atlas. This was the part where he encountered, Avalora Schnee, the 2nd princess from the Kingdom of Atlas. Like the former heiress herself, she has the glyphs for her semblance. Similar to the Vasiliases, the Schnees are also from a rare bloodline with a semblance that passes down to the later generations."
"So it all made sense, Weiss is actually a descendant of the Atlesian Royal Family. And there's a connection between both of those families." Concluded Ren.
"True, the real reason why they are in a feud. Not long after, both Cascade and Avalora have fallen in love. Having to battle Grimm together, meeting each other in secret. Their love was star-crossed. As Avalora is supposed to be the future queen for her kingdom. While Cascade have to prevent any outsiders from entering the island, he kept that secret from Milos. Fearing the hatred that might spread. They planned to find a place to hide in order to live together. After their failed attempts to negotiate for peace between their lands. The moon stones used to keep the tides in balance, they were stolen from the island's temple."
"Moon stones?" Asked Ruby.
"Yes, Ms. Rose. The moon stones. Gems that were pieces of the shattered moon. Every meteor shower, they fall from the sky like shooting stars. They come into different colors for the four seasons. White for Winter, Green for Spring, Yellow for Summer, and Red for Autumn. A huntsmen can obtain a moon stone depending on what season they're born in. If it falls into their hands, chances are that it would increase their auras to make their semblances stronger. The stones were entrusted to the Sea People by the four seasonal maidens, in order to prevent the disasters that would befall on Remnant. But they were stolen by Avalora Schnee under the orders from the king to obtain them after he found out about their secret. After Cascade found out about this, he went after her in Anima to get them back. But it all failed when Avalora have thrown them into the ocean, washed away to never be seen again. Heartbroken, it all made into a conflict, for in the end, Cascade have killed Avalora in cold blood. When he returned to the island, he was punished with execution by drowning. When he was executed, the Sea People were deemed to be deadly and dangerous, the death of the Atlas Princess has provoked the four kingdoms to ravel and invade the island. Milos was one of the few survivors to escape the battle, and for that, the bloodline have continued in his veins. Cascade's soul was cursed within his family, every descendant that was chosen was possessed by him. Whenever a Schnee is seen by a Vasilias, that's when they started fighting. It was a never-ending bloodshed between both families. They kept decimating one after the other, no matter how long it took for them. And the same thing will happen to Neptune if Cascade's soul obtains his body. And once Cascade possess his body, he will start collecting the aura from those with water semblances, and then the remaining descendants will die by turning into water. Only Cascade in another body will survive to finish what he started by flooding all of Remnant, as revenge against the outsiders. Mainly, us."
"Oh dang! If we don't stop this ritual, Neptune is done for! We got to save him!" Sun exclaims. But Ruby sits him back down to the floor.
"Sun, I know this is urgent. But we can't rush in there and attack. We need to come up with a plan. I have a feeling the place was heavily guarded by the Sea People by now. You saw how many people have came there, right?" She turned to Jaune.
Weiss gasped to hear that his soul will be eliminated to the underworld if the ritual doesn't stop. The truth about her blood being the main instigator of the curse, really played a role in the crisis. It was far worse than her father. Both Avalora and Cascade, are punished for this forbidden relationship. Her for being the princess falling in love with a sea soldier. And him for being a sea soldier for falling for the Atlesian princess. And it looks like Weiss and Neptune are next to battle each other. She never wanted to end his life. And it seems like the curse is also punishing them for falling in love. The group looks at her after hearing the creek on the floor as she stood up.
"Weiss?" Asked Ruby, concern for how well she have taken this story. But looking at her expression, she didn't took it well. Those dreams she kept having about the Great War are making sense to her, the woman in the dream was Avalora herself. She was about to choke into tears, but holds them back. Her head hurts from the broken heart. That sooner or later, Neptune will be gone.
"I...I...I just need some time alone!" Weiss made an excuse to run outside to calm down as her anxieties run higher in her body. She didn't care if her hair is wet. History is repeating itself, again, again, and again. This time, Weiss and Neptune might eventually kill each other. But in her mind, her main focus is to save him. No matter what.
Ocean Temple
The Sea People, including the Vasilias Family, have been standing longer than an hour. The pit of where Neptune is trapped in have been filled with water. Enough to drown someone. The water continues to glow bright blue. Then a hand have risen from the water, a gasped of air have been released from the young man. Neptune climbed out of the pit, distorted. His eyes were briefly closed, and when they opened, they were glowing completely light blue.
The ritual is complete, Neptune's soul have fell asleep. And Cascade's soul have taken control of his body. Hyperion have stood being content to serve his goal. He stepped forward to greet the reincarnated Cascade. He has no remorse for Neptune after using him for such an evil purpose to flood the world of Remnant. The Sea People, who're the last descendants of the fallen warriors, have clutched their fist to their chests as a form of salute.
"General, this is the day you'll take your revenge against the outsiders. Let us give our support to you." Greeted Hyperion.
"You've done well, Hyperion. I knew I can count on you. But first thing's first. We must get to Mountain Ren, there is one thing I have to do." Stated Cascade.
"Yes, just tell us, and we'll give it to you. Our General." Chuckled Hyperion as his eyes now glow too.